EDITORIAL
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri has slammed Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma after he cautioned lawmakers that a legislated wage increase for workers nationwide could have an adverse impact on the business sector.
Secretary Laguesma, known to air similar positions in the past, this time reiterated to members of Congress that granting an across-the-board legislated wage hike for workers nationwide could displace workers, increase prices of essential goods and result in a decline in domestic product growth.
This public statement led labor groups to call for the resignation of Laguesma, saying he has become the “employers’ poster boy” against the legislated wage hike.
In separate statements, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and the Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) called on Laguesma to step down since he refuses to look after the welfare of the working class.
The DOLE head explained that only a few companies might be able to comply with the proposal to legislate increased wages because the majority of the companies in the country are micro, small and medium enterprises.
Zubiri noted that Laguesma’s pronouncement runs counter with “the President’s own statement” that a review of wage rates should be in place amid the rising inflation.
“I’m saddened and shocked to hear the statement of the Secretary of Labor in objecting to higher wages for the labor sector. It is obvious by the President’s own statement on the review of wages that the Secretary has failed to protect workers’ interests and would rather speak for the interests of the business sector whom we, in the legislature, have already given several tax breaks and incentives through recent legislations,” Zubiri said.
He said Laguesma should have supported the President’s announcement rather than go his own way as if protecting the interests of businessmen.
“For the President to say that the regional wage boards should be activated again when they recently came out with those measly increases shows that the wage boards are ineffective in dealing with the crisis that laborers are facing today with high inflation and food costs,” he said.
Last May 1, President Marcos Jr. ordered the wage policy-making bodies of the government to immediately review and adjust the wages of workers in the country.
Marcos specifically ordered the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Boards to initiate a review of the minimum wage rates in their respective regions, taking into consideration the impact of inflation on the labor sector.
The Senate has passed on the third and final reading Senate Bill No. 2534, also known as the P100 Daily Minimum Wage Increase Act of 2023. A counterpart measure is still pending in the House of Representatives. Zubiri urged the President to give his full support to SBN 2534, including a certification that it is urgent, stressing a minimum legislated wage increase is the best gift the President could provide to all workers.
With the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities, and the seeming inability of the government to arrest the ongoing inflation, a legislated wage increase is needed especially by workers who are earning the minimum wage.
“The capability of the Labor Secretary to competently do his job to protect workers and promote gainful employment is squarely in serious question. He can no longer be the Secretary of Labor if he keeps on being the employers’ poster boy against a legislated wage hike at the expense of the working class of this nation,” the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said.
“If the current DOLE secretary is an impediment to such a direction, then Laguesma should step aside to let this government pursue its mandate. We need a government and a Department of Labor that seriously protects and advances the interests of working people."
Organized labor is hoping that Secretary Laguesma will take up their cause, as businessmen can very well fend for themselves.
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