Lawmaker bats for wage hike to counter inflation
A House Deputy Minority Leader is prodding regional wage boards to act with haste in providing private sector workers immediate relief from the rising cost of basic goods and services.
“Measured minimum wage increases are now more than justified, so we are counting on the boards to do their job,” Makati City 2nd district Rep. Luis Campos said in a statement Sunday.
There are some 4.1 million minimum wage earners in the private sector, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) itself expects consumer price increases to gain momentum in the current quarter, Campos pointed out.
“The BSP has basically implied that the 5.2 percent inflation rate in June – already the highest in more than five years – is bound to worsen before it eases,” he said.
Inflation peak will probably occur sometime in the third quarter before slowing down to between 2-4 percent in 2019, the BSP said in a statement on July 5.
Despite the 4.3 percent average inflation rate in the first semester, Campos said only four of the 17 regional wage boards have so far ordered minimum pay increases.
The Calabarzon (Region 4A) board increased minimum wages by R14 to R21.50 effective April 28.
The Soccsksargen (Region 12) board raised minimum wages by R16 to R18 effective May 11.
The Western Visayas (Region 6) board augmented minimum wages by R8.50 to
R26.50 effective July 12. The Eastern Visayas (Region 8) board added R20 to R30 to minimum wages, with the order still pending publication and effectivity.
Public sector workers are in a better position to cope with higher inflation, Campos noted.
“Government employees received the third installment of their salary increases in January this year, and are expected to receive the fourth and last portion in January 2019,” said the businessman-turnedcongressman.
Campos was referring the four-year (20162019) phased implementation of the compensation adjustment for government personnel under Executive Order No. 201 of 2016.