Iloilo biz group not yet ready for wage hike
The Iloilo Business Club (IBC) is appealing to the Western Visayas Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) to look into the financial realities of the region and reevaluate the impact of the newly approved daily minimum wage on the local economy.
IBC executive director, lawyer Eunice Guadalope, said that the hike is ill-timed as businesses, mostly micro, small and medium enterprises, have not recovered yet from the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said there are fears that they will be forced to shut down or suspend operations, if not reduce their workers.
“It’s a loss not only for employers or employees but our city because the economic recovery that we gradually built up since the effect of the pandemic has lessened or will be lost,” she said.
The RTWPB, chaired by lawyer Sixto Rodriguez Jr., Department of Labor and Employment - Western Visayas director, announced last week the approved minimum wage for Western Visayas.
Once approved by the National Wages and Productivity Commission, the minimum wage in the region for non-agricultural/ industrial/ commercial will increase to P450 from P395 for those with more than 10 workers.
It will be P420 from the current PHP310 for companies with 10 workers or less and P410 from the existing P315 for those in the agricultural sector.
Guadalope said that they would like to know the basis for coming up with a formula of the P55 to P110 daily increase, which is equivalent to 13 percent to 35 percent increase from the current minimum wage.
“2019 was the last wage increase for Region 6. However, from our study, the past increases were only 3 percent to 6 percent for every year,” she said.
The hike at the National Capital Region is only at P33 across the board or a 6-percent increase, she noted.
She also said she is not sure if the robust economic growth of Western Visayas in 2021 was reflective of the performance of small businesses that are still affected by the health pandemic since the performing industries were on services and agriculture sector.
Nonetheless, she said that they are waiting for the publication of the final wage advisory while at the same time, gathering the opinion of other business groups in the city if they can “make a broader appeal” on the wage hike.
“We are hoping that the national commission will take a look at our economic condition here in Region 6,” she added.