Low wages justify increase, says group

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MANILA, Philippines — In a recent House hearing on proposed minimum wage hikes, research group Ibon Foundation stressed that an across-the-board increase is urgently needed.

Ibon executive director Sonny Africa said the actual value of the minimum wage today is lower than 35 years ago, in 1989, in 16 out of 17 regions. In the National Capital Region, it is only 0.6 percent higher.

He pointed to a 22 percent contraction in the average real minimum wage since 1989, even as worker productivity has increased by 88 percent over the same period. This shows how wage repression has boosted business profits substantially.

Africa argued that wage hikes need not be inflationary if employers accept a small profit cut rather than pass on costs. He said even smaller enterprises could implement hikes without raising prices.

‘Urgent, just and doable’

The research group urged legislators to approve an across-the-board minimum wage increase, calling it “urgent, just and doable.”

Meanwhile, Gabriela, a women’s rights group, said in a statement on Sunday that regular work opportunities, increased wages, and equal pay for women are needed.

READ: Data shows employers can afford P100 wage hike – IBON

Clarice Palce, secretary general of Gabriela, said Republic Act No. 6715, or the Herrera Law, has worsened job insecurity, pushing more women into informal work. She cited Ibon Foundation data showing an estimated 4 million unemployed and 70 to 80 percent in informal jobs.

RA 6715, proposed by former Sen. Ernesto Herrera and enacted in 1989, amended for the first time several provisions of the Labor Code of the Philippines in a bid to strengthen workers’ rights to self-organization, collective bargaining, and peaceful concerted activities.