Cebu-based businesses might consider leaving
IF P125 WAGE HIKE BILL PASSES
Cebu-based businesses might consider moving their operations to other ASEAN countries if the P125 across-the-board wage hike proposal will be enacted.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has ordered for a review of the wage hike proposal amid plans to present it for legislative approval.
In a joint manifesto, the Cebu business sector requested for a moratorium on the proposed P125/day wage increase.
In a report from CNN Philippines, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said the proposed wage increase will surely drive away foreign investors from doing business in the Philippines.
ECOP President Donald Dee said in the same report that any wage increase at this moment will leave a negative impression on the country's investment climate.
The joint manifesto signed on September 19 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), the Mactan Export Processing Zone Chamber of Exporters and Manufacturers (Me- pzcem), Confederation of Philippine Exporters (Philexport Cebu), and the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), stated that while they recognize the government's initiative to rationalize the wage structure in the country and alleviate the plight of the vulnerable section of the labor force, the government also needs to hear and look into the concerns of the business sector to be able to come with a win-win solution.
The export sector for instance and its supply chain/s are still reeling from the effects of the global slowdown, and has already absorbed 16 months of continuous decline in export revenues without any clear sign of a recovery in the near term.
Export players are further apprehensive to a double digit-drop in export performance for fiscal year 2016 which could add to the 150 companies which have suspended operations, gone bankrupt and heavily downsized since 2010.
The manifesto also informed the government that the services sector, particularly in the “wellness” subsector, comprised of retailers, hotels, resorts and restaurants are currently in a state of "negative growth."
It also highlighted prevailing concerns covering social, environmental, peace and security that the country is currently facing, has already adversely affected domestic business operations and has driven foreign investments away, as evidenced by the drop in the stock market index and the weakening of the Philippine Peso."
Currently, DOLE is holding consultations around the country on the legislative measures proposing a P125 across-the-board general wage increase in the private sector through the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB).