P100 minimum wage hike may be difficult for MSMEs – DOLE

DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (DOLE) secretary Bienvenido Laguesma on Saturday, Feb. 10, said the proposed P100 minimum wage hike in the private sector might create difficulties for some businesses.

Laguesma said the P100 proposal would result in an additional 15 to 25 percent increase in each employee’s salary, excluding wage related benefits, citing data from the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC).

“Medyo may kabigatan po.

Dahil out of more or less one million na registered existing businesses sa atin, mahigit

900,000 nasa kategorya ng micro, small, and medium enterprises,” Laguesma said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

However, he said it would be “contentious” to say that businesses will not be able to sustain the P100 increase.

On the part of DOLE, Laguesma said there was

a need for the department to look at how to preserve employment, as well as to continue to create additional jobs to sustain the employment level.

“Kung gusto mong makakita ng manggagawa, sumabay ka sa mga benepisyo na hinahanap at gustong makita ng mga manggagawa na ipagkakaloob sa kanila. ‘Yon po ang mga konsiderasyon na dapat isinasaalang- alang,”

Laguesma added.

He also said that small businesses needed to be helped following the COVID-19 pandemic.

He added that DOLE’s task, particularly through the NWPC, was to provide technical inputs, but a law on labor would be up to the Congress.

The bill seeking an additional P100 in the daily minimum wage of workers in the private sector reached the Senate plenary last week.