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Si Ka Lito, lider manggagawa sa pantalan

Si Ka Lito Luces, 59 taong gulang at isa sa mga haligi ng kilusang paggawa sa pier sa North Harbor sa Maynila. Simula 1995 ay siya na ang tagapangulo ng unyon (PAMBATO-LAND-KMU) na nangunguna sa kanilang mga laban para sa karapatan at kagalingan.

Sa kabila nang matinding tanggalan dulot ng kontratwalisasyon sa mga manggagawa sa pier, patuloy silang nakikibaka para labanan ito.

Hiling din nila na maitaas pa ang kanilang sahod. Ang kasalukuyan na P537 kada araw ito ay katumbas lamang na halos P400 ayon kay Ka Lito.

Natapos man ang araw ng manggagawa noong Mayo 1., sigaw nila sa gubyerno ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na itaas ang sahod sa buong bansa at wakasan ang anumang porma ng kontraktwaliasyon. (Bidyo ni Joseph Cuevas/ Kodao)

Don’t insist on low poverty threshold, address jobs crisis, gov’t told

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) recently attributed reduced poverty in the first semester of 2018 to the rising quality of jobs under the Duterte administration.

But research group IBON said that dismal jobs creation, the magnitude of joblessness, poor quality work, and meager wages give away the true picture of Philippine poverty.

The group stressed that government needs to first admit that there is a jobs problem to embark on real solutions to poverty.

Very weak job creation indicates an economy in crisis that deprives people of livelihoods, IBON said.

Job generation in the first two years of the Duterte administration was the worst in six decades and nine administrations.

Employment grew by an annual average of only 0.2% in in 2017 and 2018 compared to the 1.6%-3.9% annual average under the administrations since the time of Diosdado Macapagal in the 1960s.

IBON added that the persistence of joblessness and underemployment, where even those employed seek additional work, underscores the inability of the economy to generate enough stable and decent work.

The group estimates the unemployment rate to have grown from 9% in 2016 to 10.3% in 2017 and 9.9% in 2018.

In 2018, IBON estimates 4.6 million unemployed and 6.7 million underemployed Filipinos.

IBON also underscored that wages remain far below what households need on a daily basis.

NEDA claims that poverty fell due to higher incomes from wages and salaries especially among the poorest families.

IBON however pointed out, for instance, that the Php575.18 average daily basic pay of wage and salary workers in January 2018 is not even enough at 60% of the estimated Php955 National Capital Region family living wage at that time.

It should also be noted, said IBON, that the methodology of poverty and unemployment statistics obscures the real situation of poverty and unemployment.

The unrealistically low poverty threshold results in millions of Filipinos not being counted as poor.

Similarly, the definition of unemployment since 2005 results in millions of jobless Filipinos, including discouraged workers, not being counted as unemployed millions.

Rather than hyping supposedly on-track poverty reduction, the Duterte administration should count the real numbers of poor and unemployed Filipinos.

This is the only real basis for an effective strategy for poverty alleviation, said IBON.

The Filipino people deserve a comprehensive and broad-based poverty alleviation strategy that includes enabling the economy to create jobs, raise people’s incomes and livelihood, and increase economic production and capacity for consumption.

Government can embark on this instead of setting such a low poverty threshold and harping on reducing the number of poor just by changing the way they are counted, IBON said.

Php750 minimum wage possible, non-inflationary and good for the economy–​IBON​

Contrary to government and big employers’ claims, research group IBON said that raising minimum wages nationwide to Php750 is doable, need not spike prices further, and will benefit millions of Filipino workers and the economy.

The group cited the following reasons:

  1. Raising minimum wages nationwide to Php750 is doable if owners of establishments allow a small portion of their profits to go to their workers instead.

    Firms and the economy as a whole have more than enough profits to support this.

    Data from the 2015 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shows that the 34,740 establishments employing 20 or more have Php1.7 trillion in total profits and 4.5 million employees.

    Raising the average daily basic pay of wage and salary workers from the nationwide average of Php378.71 to Php750 transfers just Php473.2 billion to workers’ pockets, which is only a 28.3 percent decrease in profits.

    Workers will meanwhile get to take home an additional Php8,076 per month on average.

    This still falls short of the family living wage and does not necessarily bring everyone up to a decent standard of living but such an increase will provide immediate relief to millions of Filipino workers and their families.

  2. Raising minimum wages nationwide to Php750 will not necessarily hike inflation. Prices need not go up and workers need not be laid off if employers accept the slight cut in profits.

  3. As it is, wages are not even keeping up with the rising productivity of workers so their ever-growing contribution to the economy increases employer profits more than improves workers’ welfare. For instance, according to the Labor Productivity Statistics of the PSA, the contribution of each worker to total gross domestic product (GDP) increased from Php196,179 in 2015 to Php198,215 in 2016 (up by 2.2 percent). This means that the average daily contribution of each worker to the economy amounts to some Php759.44 per day, which is more than double the average daily basic pay and more than the proposed national minimum wage.

  4. The economy will also benefit by increasing workers’ purchasing power and aggregate demand which stimulates higher production and increases economic activity. Raising minimum wages nationwide also reduces inequality by transferring wealth overly concentrated in a few to millions of workers and their families.

According to IBON, the country’s largest corporations and the wealthiest families owning these can easily absorb the substantial wage hike.

Smaller producers in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will also be able to afford the wage hike with government support such as immediately providing cheap and easy credit, giving marketing support, nurturing locally-integrated supply chains, and improving their scientific and technological capabilities.

MSMEs will also benefit from increased worker demand for their goods and services in the domestic market, said the group. #

Severe Income Inequality in the Philippines

Despite being relatively high compared to other Asian countries, Philippine economic growth is lopsided in the interest of a few at the expense of the majority of poor Filipinos. High levels of wealth are concentrated in the hands of a few, while family incomes have stagnated in real terms, especially amid rising prices.

Working Filipino’s real wage, purchasing power weakening under Duterte

Research group IBON said that accelerating inflation is rapidly eroding the real wage and purchasing power of minimum wage earners in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Real wages show the actual value of wages after these are adjusted for inflation. After almost two years in power, the Duterte administration has only raised the minimum wage in the NCR once–in October last year–which increased this from Php491 in July 2016 to Php512 as of March 2018.

The nominal Php21 increase has however not been enough to keep up with rising prices.

Inflation has been steadily accelerating since the start of the Duterte administration to reach a six-year-high of 3.7 percent in 2017.

It is looking to become even higher this year at 4.8 percent already in the first quarter of 2018.

Minimum wage earners have actually already lost Php16.80 per day with the real value of their wages, measured at 2012 prices, falling from Php466.70 in July 2016 to just Php449.90 in March 2018.

The year 2012 is used as the reference period because this is the base year of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in computing the consumer price index (CPI) and inflation.

As it is, the NCR minimum wage of Php512 falls far short of the estimated Php973 family living wage (FLW) for a family of five, and even further short of the Php1,168 FLW for a family of six.

The eroding purchasing power of workers is resulting in even lower standards of living for minimum wage earners.

IBON said that the government should urgently address the grossly insufficient wages of workers, which is even being rapidly eroded by high inflation.

Immediate and concrete steps include implementing the Php750 national minimum wage demanded by workers’ groups and suspending implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Package One, which is driving prices up and amending this to become genuinely progressive; and enforcing price controls such as on staple food items. # (IBON.org)

Amid price hikes: Minimum wage insufficient vs. rising family cost of living — IBON

The onslaught of price hikes since early this year has made the mandated minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR) even more inadequate for millions of Filipino workers to decently support their families, said research group IBON.

IBON computations show that the NCR nominal minimum wage still falls considerably short of the rising family living wage (FLW).

As of March 2018, Php1,168 is needed daily to support a family of six, while Php973 is needed for a family of five.

Worsening inflation has increased the FLW needed from the same period last year by Php57 for a family of six and by Php48 for a family of five–a 5.2 percent increase for both.

The minimum wage however has not kept up with the rising cost of living.

The NCR nominal minimum wage of Php512 is just 43.8 percent of the Php1,168 FLW in March this year.

This translates into a significant wage gap of Php656 or 56.2 percent, said the group.

For a family of five, the gap was nearly half (47.4 percent) of the FLW.

These wage gaps grew despite the regional wage board’s approval of a Php21 minimum wage increase from Php491 to Php512 last October 2017.

IBON said that the wage discrepancy is just as wide as the same period last year. In March 2017, the nominal minimum wage in the NCR of Php491 was 44.2 percent of the Php1,111 FLW for a family of six.

This was a wage gap of Php620 or 55.8 percent.

The group also noted that the average daily basic pay of wage and salary workers in NCR has declined under the Duterte administration. Latest official figures show that the NCR average daily basic pay fell from Php557.46 in July 2016 to Php542.16 in July 2017.

Workers’ minimum wages cannot cope with the higher prices that are driving up inflation and the cost of living, said the group.

The 5.2 percent inflation rate for the NCR in March 2018 is so far the highest in five years according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

IBON said that there should be an immediate, substantial and across-the-board minimum wage increase against the high inflation.

The government should approve and mandate the Php750 national minimum wage that workers groups are calling for.

Implementation of TRAIN Package One which is among the drivers of inflation should also be suspended and the law reviewed towards being amended to become genuinely progressive.

It should also ensure job security, necessary benefits, better working conditions, as well as much-needed social services that will assist Filipino workers and their families in meeting their basic needs, said the group. #

 

Health workers decry low wages, privatization of public hospitals under Aquino

Rank and file public health workers protested in front of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute last March 23 to condemn the Benigno Aquino government for its “anti-poor” policies in the health sector.

Members of the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) said Aquino’s Salary Standardization program only aims to keep ordinary health workers poor through a measly and staggered wage increase.

They also condemned the “unabated” privatization of public hospitals and the services these institutions offer to the poor.

They said President Aquino has betrayed the interests of poor patients by worsening the state of health institutions in his more than five years in office.

AHW is pressing for a monthly national minimum wage of PhP16,000 for Salary Grade 1 workers and substantial budget increase for public health.