Employers always abide by RTWPB decisions – ECOP
Employers said they always abide by the decisions of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) on wage adjustments stressing it is the best venue to address petitions for wage adjustments, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said.
ECOP President Sergio Ortiz-luis Jr. emphasized the position of the largest employers’ group in the country in light of the order of President Marcos in a speech during the Labor Day celebration Wednesday, May 1 to review the country’s wage rates.
“Basta wage board’s decision pag lumabas yan kakayanin namin kasi pinag-aaralan yan,”(as long as it is the wage boards’ decision, we can handle it because it has been thoroughly studied), said Ortiz-luis. As a tripartite board, the government representatives, employers, and workers are well represented in the RTPWB.
Because of the wage orders by the RTWPBS, Ortiz-luis said the Philippines now has the highest wage rates in southeast Asia. He said the Philippines already surpassed Malaysia with the last wage order.
Ortiz-luis also clarified that the
President’s order for wage review was directed at the RTWPB, not to Congress, adding that nobody in the Cabinet would agree to a legislated wage hike.
While there had been previous resolutions filed in Congress seeking wage hikes, Ortiz-luis said that legislators themselves know it would be impossible to pass those bills.
“He (Marcos) was basically telling Congress to allow the RTPWB to do it, that’s what he was saying if you read between the lines,” he said. “I think he was indirectly telling Congress not to touch it because the RTPWBS are doing their job, that’s my interpretation and the employers’,” he added.
But the employers’ group was disappointed when the President did not mention about the position by some workers, and business groups, including ECOP, to review the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).
“We are disappointed because it’s very obvious that everybody said that program is not good, but he (Marcos) did not mention it. It could have been a good gift to workers on Labor Day,” he said citing the estimated more than 38,000 workers (jeepney
drivers, operators, etc.) who will lose their jobs with the phase out of the old jeepneys.
“We will soon lose these jobs, for what purpose? For modernization, but we are importing modern jeepneys,” he pointed out. Some business leaders have pressed the government to instead put up a fund for jeepney manufacturers to be able to produce the modern local jeepneys.
Aside from the potential huge job losses and not enough mass transportation available to fill the void to be left by the jeepneys, Ortiz-luis emphasized that the Pinoy jeepney is already part of the Philippine culture. “Even tourists want to ride in our jeepneys, it is a Philippine icon,” he said.
On the occasion of the Labor Day celebration, the ECOP also issued a statement reiterating the employers’ commitment to prioritize the welfare and wellness of the workers.
“The Confederation commits to continue engaging in policy making processes through the scheme of tripartism in order to ensure a sound policy environment conducive to investment and employment generation. It vows to also maintain its bipartite relations with the workers at all levels to ensure that the dialogue mechanism enables concrete policy actions and program interventions,” the statement added.