Minimum wage hike bill might dissuade Pinoys from working abroad –Zubiri

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Saturday said the proposed minimum wage hike bill could dissuade Filipinos from working abroad and going to dangerous places for a bigger salary.

“May napanood po ako interview ng isang nanay galing Sudan, sabi nya alam mo maski na buwis buhay ako sa Sudan at least ang sweldo ko $1,200 magkano lang yun, P60,000 magbubuwis ka ng buhay,” Zubiri said in a radio interview.

(I saw an interview, a mother who worked in Sudan. She said, "You know, even if I risked my life in Sudan, at my salary was $1,200." But how much is that really? Risking your life for P60,000.)

“Kung makakadagdag ka ng P3,000 a month malaking tulong na yan. If we do not make adjustments, this is a warning sa kanila if we do not adjust our salaries not only sa minimum wage pati sa middle income, marami sa kanila aalis sa inyo. Matitira na lang unskilled labor. Kung walang hindrance ang visa para maka-abroad ang mga kababayan, marami ang umalis na,” he said.

(For another P3000 a month, that would be a big deal. If we do not make adjustments, this is a warning. If we do not adjust our salaries, not only the minimum wage but also middle income salaries, lots of them will leave. The only ones left will be unskilled labor. If our countrymen didn't have to deal with hindrances over getting a visa, lots would have left by now.)

Zubiri noted that the Philippines needed to be at par with other Asian countries like Malaysia and Indonesia that have increased their minimum wage.

“Ang minimum wage ng Indonesia umaabot na sa P700 plus a day. Malaysia nasa P840 a day. Singapore P1,500 ata,” he said.

(The minimum wage in Indonesia rose to over P700 a day. Malaysia is at P840 a day. Singapore is at P1,500 I think.)

Zubiri said business people must consider their employees since their earnings were back at pre-pandemic levels.

“Bilyon bilyon po ang kinikita ng mga korporasyon. Let us share, share share naman sa mga mangaggawa. Kapag kinompute nyo po meron kayong 1,000 employees, daragdagan ng 150 a day, that is 22 days that is P3.3 million kada buwan, so after one year that is only P39.9 million. Kita nila, bilyong bilyon. Maliit lang impact nyan sa malalakinng corporations. It’s dropping the bucket pero productivity wise gaganda,” he said.

(Corporations are earning billions. Let us share, share with the workers. If you add it all up, if you have 1,000 employees, increase their salaries P150 a day, that is 22 days, it comes to P3.3 million per month. So, after a year, that is P39.9 million. Given the billions earned by the company, that's still a profit. That impact would be minimal among large corporations, a drop in the bucket. But it would have a positive effect on productivity.)

Moreover, Zubiri believed the country's economy would improve, and the additional P150 wage would help workers.

"Totoo yan, babalik din sa ekonomiya, may dagdag P150. Makakain man lang over the weekend. Makakabalik din sa ating ekonomiya," he added.

(That's true, the P150 will all find its way into the economy. Having a meal during the weekends. That will go back into the economy.)

Earlier this week, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada announced that the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resources Development would tackle the bills seeking to increase the minimum wage in the country.

Among the measures to be tackled are the bill seeking to reform the system of increasing the minimum wage, the bill seeking to provide P150 across-the-board wage increase, and the bill amending the Wage Rationalization Act, which will impose penalties against employers who do not follow the daily wage increases.

In March, Zubiri filed Senate Bill 2002, which proposes a P150 across-the-board increase in the minimum wage of workers in the private sector to cover food, water, fuel, electricity, clothing, transportation, rent, communications, and other personal needs. — DVM, GMA Integrated News