Battle for wage hikes continue in Congress and parliament of the streets

Workers once again vented their ire on the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) after the business group raised their consistent rejection for any pay hike for wage earners.

After Donald Dee, ECOP President Rene Soriano is now the new spokesperson against wage hikes. Their position on wage hike proposal is not new to us. Ever since we started the P125 across-the-board wage hike campaign, they have been spelling doom over wage hike demands. We already expected ECOP to raise hell over current developments of the P125 wage bill in Congress. We are ready for another round of street and parliament battles for wage hikes.”

“Once again, ECOP is articulating their age old arguments in opposition to justified calls for substantial wage hikes. They are saying that any wage hikes would lead to further economic disaster, more unemployment and business bankruptcy. Workers have long proved these alibis to be wrong and misleading,” said KMU Secretary General Joel Maglunsod.

Maglunsod said they will continue to rigorous launch lobby work to urge members of the Lower House and Senate to hasten the deliberation of the P125 wage bill. “We are hoping for noteworthy developments in our demand for a legislated wage hike. Arroyo must concede to the peoples longstanding demands for economic progress. ”

The labor leader said that workers are relying on possible wage adjustments to cope with the ever increasing costs of basic goods and services. Severe wage erosion, steady inflation and the ever dwindling economic status of the Philippine

“The granting of substantial wage hikes is actually long overdue. The Arroyo government’s claim that wages increased by 26 percent in past four years is an outright misinformation. The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) only managed to give out worthless wage adjustments mostly in the form of Emergency Cost of Living Allowances (ECOLA). Even the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has been deliberately blocking all efforts from the labor sector pressing for wage hikes. Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas already joined the ranks of employers in refusing against any significant wage and salary hikes for workers.”

Workers score VAT hike proposals

Meanwhile, the workers group raised strong opposition to the Value Added Tax (VAT) hike proposed by the government. “Additional taxes mean additional burden for wage earners and taxpayers. Instead of raising and implementing new taxes, the government must give serious attention on fixing the tax collection system.”