Concepcion: Govt should focus on job creation
GO Negosyo founder Jose Maria “Joey” Concepcion 3rd on Wednesday said the government should focus on creating more sustainable jobs rather than pushing for a wage hike.
Concepcion, Private Sector Advisory Council head for jobs, issued the statement following proposals by members of the House of Representatives to raise the minimum wage by P350, higher than the P100 wage hike approved by the Senate.
In a statement, he said that a skilled workforce and a vibrant economy that creates jobs is a more sustainable approach to giving people higher wages.
“We all want to improve the lives of our employees, but what is important is for the economy to continue to grow,” he said.
As the economy grows, he said more jobs will be generated, and with the increased demand will come higher wages for more people.
“It happens in sectors where we lack a supply of workers. An example of that is our nurses; they are paid well because the demand for nurses is high,” he said.
The Go Negosyo founder said that upskilling and reskilling workers are other longterm solutions to raising wages.
“We will help our workers upskill and reskill because this will make Philippine labor competitive with our Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors,” he said.
Concepcion added that a highly skilled workforce that can attract foreign direct investments will boost economic growth, which in turn can spur more jobs and increase wages on a more sustainable basis than boosting spending power on the scale and speed proposed by legislators.
“Using wage increases to spur the economy is a tricky situation,” he said. “Eventually, smaller companies cannot survive, and they will close shop. Rather than having people with jobs, you will have people with no jobs.”
Furthermore, Concepcion said that the matter of minimum wage hikes should be left to the regional wage boards.
“The focus is the economy and for us to create more jobs. Let the regional wage boards handle the minimum wage increases,” he added.
Concepcion said that the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards are tasked to review and adjust minimum wages in the context of factors like inflation, cost of living, and economic conditions in their respective regions.
When significant wage adjustments are deemed necessary beyond the regional level, legislation can be passed by Congress and signed into law by the President.
“They have to be careful with the 350 wage hike. Nobody in history has done that, and that will shake down a lot of companies,” he added.
The Go Negosyo founder said not all businesses will be able to afford to increase the salaries of their employees.