The labor issues of wages and contractualization

The labor sector, led by our very own ALU-TUCP, demands that wages be increased to P800 nationwide. That is easier said than done. That, with due respect to Michael and Raymond Mendoza, and Gerald Seno, is just a propaganda line advanced by the labor federations. They know that the more we increase wages, thousands of small-scale and medium-scale industries are marginalized, and more and more multinationals are transferring to Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The current drive against flexible work arrangements like outsourcing, project employment, and fixed-term jobs, are ''killing'' job opportunities. So, what is the use of P800 daily to a jobless Filipino? He will just be pushed to go and seek employment abroad, even accepting dirty, difficult, dangerous, degrading, and deceptive work.

It is always politically cool to drum up such popular demands as increasing wages and abolishing contractualization. It attracts the working masses. The people will buy that and demand for its immediate implementation. But, do the proponents sit down away from the tumultuous crowds and really analyze the far-reaching implications of runaway wage increases and the consequences of tying the hands of employers on security of tenure? We cannot legislate security of tenure if the viability of the businesses is threatened by bankruptcy and losses. Even if we surround ourselves with department orders and executive orders, businesses will still fold up if the cost of operation exceeds projected revenues.

The proponents of both runaway wage hikes and ending outsourcing should go back to their tables and start computing the cost of doing business in the Philippines. The cost of oil and gas have increased. The government stands idly, unable to control the law of supply and demand, and without power vis-a-vis the interplay of market movements. And now, the labor sector is pressuring the government to pass a law nationalizing, again, minimum wages. This is a step backward, after we passed Republic Act 6727, the Wage Rationalization Act. ALU-TUCP should know this because the author of that law was the late senator Ernesto Boy Herrera, then ALU-TUCP secretary general.

ALU-TUCP, NAGKAISA, and all the federations demand wage increases. In fairness to them, they are just doing their jobs. I also believe wages should be reviewed, but not to rush the conclusion that it should be increased to P800. I still believe that wages should be regionalized. I believe in the principle of living wage. And the unions will agree that the cost of living in the Cordilleras, Saranggani, Sibutu, or Siquijor is much lower than in Makati, Cebu City, or Davao. Let us discuss these issues maturely and objectively, not allowing emotions to get the better of us. We are all Filipinos.

Let us think of the far-reaching consequences of our actions. And let us always bear in mind that labor and capital are not enemies in dialectic materialism conflicts and struggles. We are social partners on the same boat together. We either swim together or sink together.