PCCI: Leave pay hike to wage boards

MANILA, Philippines —  Business group Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) reiterated its opposition to the proposed P100 legislated wage hike as it urged Congress to defer wage increase matters to the national wage boards.

In a statement yesterday, the PCCI said Congress should let the National Wages and Productivity Commission and Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB) decide on wage increases rather than legislate a bill that would only benefit a few and disenfranchise other members of the labor force.

PCCI president Enunina Mangio said that the proposed P100 legislated wage increase will only benefit five million workers, versus 47 million others that are in the informal sector.

“The P100 proposed wage will not even be enough when inflation goes up. Why don’t we instead legislate measures to address the rising cost in food prices and other issues that hamper our economic growth?”Mangio said.

She added that the move would discourage foreign investors from doing business in the Philippines.

“No one would ever try to look at the Philippines once they see that legislators can enact wage hikes anytime, even disregarding the authority of the National Wage Board,” Mangio said.

On Monday, Senate bill 2534 co-authored by Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Migs Zubiri, which proposes a P100 wage hike, was approved on the third and final reading.

Mangio also stressed that senators did not even consider or listen to the position of the employers and the business community.

Similarly, PCCI local chambers also expressed their strong opposition to the proposed P100 legislated wage increase, while supporting the recommendations of the joint business groups led by PCCI.

“The proposed legislation directly infringes upon the RTWPB mandate to regulate wage adjustments regionally based on economic conditions. Centralizing wage determination undermines the board’s ability to tailor wage policies to regional economic realities, thereby risking economic imbalances,” PCCI South Luzon said.

For its part, PCCI Visayas provided a number of recommendations to the government such as the prioritization of expanding economic activities and attracting investments