The Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) welcomed the latest wage order, granting minimum wage earners workers in the National Capital Region an additional P50 a day, saying it should put to rest efforts in Congress to legislate an exorbitant wage increase.
In an interview on Monday, ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr. said while the wage order might force some employers to further tighten their belts, their group supports it because it was the fruit of multi-sector consultations by the NCR Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB).
“We welcome it [wage hike]. The proper way to set wage adjustments is really through the wage boards… that’s the reason they exist in the first place… not through legislation,” he told Manila Standard.
Ortiz-Luis also pointed out that in the three years since the Senate has been trying but failing to pass a law mandating a P100 per day pay increase, RTWPBs nationwide have already approved a series of wage orders cumulatively exceeding P100 per day.
“This [salary adjustment over the last 3 years] is actually bigger than what they [Senators] wanted. I just hope that it [P50 daily wage hike] does not contribute further to inflation,” he added.
However, ECOP’s president reiterated that government-mandated pay increases can only benefit a minority of workers in the formal sector, but do nothing to help the majority of workers in the informal sector, including farmers, fishermen, and micro entrepreneurs.
