CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, March 12, 2010—Only sixteen percent (16%) of the total labor force in the country will benefit from any legislated wage increases, the chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) claimed the other day.
Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. said that of the total work force of the country, only 16% are in the “formal” sector while the 84% are in the “informal” sector.
“The formal sector of our labor force is the only one who are affected by any legislated increase in salary. Yung 84% palaging naiiwan,” he explained.
Ortiz-Luis said only those who are in the formal labor sector are covered by the Labor Code and other labor laws while the greater majority who composed the informal labor sector are not covered by the laws because they are those who are mostly small self-employed entrepreneurs and workers in the so-called “underground economy.”
The informal sector comprises of those who are casual, contingent, contractual, seasonal, temporary and non-regular employees, which really are the unsung heroes who have contributed to several businesses’ and industries’ progress and yet are taken for granted.
Recent Labor department statistics (2008) showed that the informal labor sector in the country comprises 20 million workers while the formal sector is just 5 million.
But the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said the formal sector is composed of 5.067 million out of a total labor force of 34.5 million.
Ortiz-Luis said that while the P75.00 across-the-board increase in salary is a “populist idea,” it will really benefit only a few workers and not those who are in the informal sector.
“You’re not doing the working class a favor by increasing the wage,” he said, warning that if this happens in light of the power crisis that is spawning a host of other problems particularly in the business sector, many businesses will be forced to retrench workers or shut down operations to cope with the rising cost of doing business.
“It is not really a question of how can we cope but much of a question of how productive we will be,” said Jaime Ralph U. Paguio, president of the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. (Oro Chamber).
Paguio said while most businesses in Cagayan de Oro which are members of Oro Chamber have not yet thought of laying off workers, some “maybe forced” to move towards that direction if the power crisis persists and no mitigating measures are instituted in the short term.
However, he stressed that they are also thinking of using “flexi-time” to cope with the power crisis.
“It really is a judgment call for businesses,” he said
Ruben Vegafria, president of the Promote CDO Foundation and chairman of the Regional Small and Medium Enterprise Development (SMED) Council in Northern Mindanao, said that the business sector is “now suffering” because of the power curtailment imposed by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) because of limited power supply produced by the National Power Corporation (NPC).
Vegafria said the petition for a P75.00 across-the-board wage increase filed by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) will further the suffering of the sector and will eventually result to the suffering of the labor force.
“The TUCP petition is bordering on being heartless. The business sector is suffering already,” he said.
He and other business leaders feared that many politicians running for various elective positions will milk the petition to boost their chances of victory at the polls.
“We hope the politicians will not ride on the TUCP request,” he said. (Bong D. Fabe)
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