Pinoys earning less – ILO

MANILA, Philippines - Workers in the Philippines and other countries are earning less despite becoming more productive over the past years, the International Labor Organization (ILO) yesterday reported.

In “Global Wage Report 2012/13,” the ILO said wage growth remains far below pre-crisis levels globally and has fallen further in developed countries.

The ILO said global monthly wages grew by 1.2 percent in 2011, down from three percent in 2007 and 2.1 percent in 2010. The number could have been lower if China is excluded from the calculations, it said.

“This report clearly shows that in many countries, the crisis has had a strong impact on wages and by extension, on workers,” ILO director-general Guy Ryder said.

Ryder said the ILO report also showed that wages have grown at a slower pace than labor productivity.

“This trend has resulted in a change in the distribution of income, meaning that workers are benefitting less from the fruits of their work while the owners of capital are benefitting more,” he said.

Ryder said the trend is undesirable and should be reversed.

“On a social and political level its clearest interpretation is that workers and their families are not receiving the fair share they deserve,” he said.    

But Ryder said the report showed differences between countries and regions, with wages generally growing faster in areas where economic growth is stronger.

While wage growth suffered a double dip in developed economies – where it is forecast at zero percent in 2012 – it remained positive throughout the crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Africa, and even more so in Asia.

The biggest changes were seen in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which went from double-digit pre-crisis rates to a hard landing in 2009. In the Middle East, wages appear to have dropped since 2008, although data are still incomplete.

Globally, wages grew by just under a quarter and almost doubled in Asia. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia,  wages nearly tripled, although following significant declines in the 1990s. And in the developed world, they increased by just about 5 percent.