TUCP welcomes employers' groups meeting on power

MANILA, Philippines - Labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines on Tuesday welcomed the planned meeting of six major local and foreign employers' groups in the country to address the high cost of electricity.

TUCP, however, urged  President Benigno Aquino III to create a national multi-agency and multi-sectoral body that would draw up a national strategy to make the country's power supply reliable and electricity prices affordable and competitive.

The Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines, the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, the Korean Chamber of Commerce Philippines and the Management Association of the Philippines issued a joint position paper on Tuesday calling for a meeting specifically on issues involving the proper implementation of Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

"The TUCP and other labor groups comprising Nagkaisa had been urging President Aquino to set-up a presidential task force on power to focus on lowering the cost of electricity during the pre-labor day dialogue held in Malacañang. It is high time for President Aquino pay special attention to the issue," Louie Corral, TUCP executive director, said.

He cited that 11 percent to 15 percent of Filipino workers’ take home monthly salary goes to the cost of electricity alone.

Without a serious and practical national strategy on power, workers and their families will continue to spend more for electricity than food, tuition fees, and medicines, he said.

"Also, without a stable supply and a very uncompetitive electricity prices, we will not be attractive to much needed jobs-creating foreign and domestic investments. That means, there will be no new jobs and existing companies will resort to reduce employees because of high cost of operation due to high cost of electricity,"Corral said.

Without a strategy, Corral predicts unemployment and underemployment will rise to an estimated 14.3 million to 14.7 million by the time Aquino steps down from power in June 2016.

The Labor Force Survey (LFS) released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in April 2014 showed the country’s unemployed were 2.9 million (7.5 percent) and 7.1 million underemployed.