Employers in the Philippines are against a proposal that would raise the daily minimum wage within the private sector by P100, which is about $1.78 US. Furthermore, they say that it could hurt small businesses and make investors less interested in investing.
The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) says the plan will hurt small businesses and raise prices. In turn, will make foreign investors less likely to come to the Philippines.
The price increase will have an impact on them because of the salary hike, according to Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., President of ECOP.However, the higher pay won’t benefit them. He added that he didn’t think it was a good idea, even though the rate of inflation had gone down, because prices would go up by at least 2% because of the rise.
In addition, Ortiz-Luis Jr. said that there are only a few thousand microbusinesses in the Philippines and that they couldn’t afford to pay their workers more. Because of the new wage hike, Ortiz-Luis Jr. said the Philippines would be one of the best places to work in the area. Investors would be less likely to want to put money into the country after this.
It is being pushed by Senate Chair Jinggoy Estrada, Senate Bill 2534, which would raise the minimum wage for private sector workers to P100, which is $1.78. Estrada is also the head of the Senate Committee on Labour, Employment, and Human Resources; she also chairs that committee.
According to The Philippine Star, the Senate’s main meeting has already discussed this bill.
For Senator Estrada, “it is incumbent upon us to propose a daily pay hike to help alleviate the burden of Filipinos in the face of soaring prices of basic commodities and the rising cost of living, after consideration of the existing socio-economic conditions and positions of various sectors.” “As our employees are the backbone of the economy, we cannot ignore the injustice done to them or their financial circumstances.”
