No wage hike on Labor Day

While everyone would welcome an increase in wages for our working class, especially at these difficult times, the realities on the ground, at this instance, clearly point to the fact there will be no such wage hike on the first of May. In the first place, Congress is currently not in session, and even if it were, the majority party is not inclined to legislate a new national wage law. The President would veto any such initiative.  The general consensus   is that the administration would leave the respective regional tripartite wage and productivity boards across the nation to address the wage issue. Also, the whole country is facing a national mid-term election and a wage hike by legislative fiat can no longer be done with such a limited time left before the May polls.

The Labor Committee of the Lower House attempted a last-ditch blitzkrieg strategy to approve on last session day, at committee level, what has been proposed almost a decade ago, to legislate an across-the-board increase of P125 in wages for all workers. The House Chair on Labor and Employment, Congressman Emil Ong of Northern Samar, assisted by labor party-list representatives, hurriedly maneuvered the approval by the committee, to the great consternation and great concern of the employers' sector. This writer attended the committee hearing as a duly designated representative of People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP).

Along with such proposal to increase wages across the board, was another legislative measure making it mandatory to distribute, by way of a profit-sharing scheme, at least five percent of the company's gross income every year. This was likewise approved in such a hurried fashion that we felt that even before we came, the minds of the committee members were already made up. We did express our view that the two proposed legislative measures would do more harm than good to the workers, in particular, and to the country's economy, in general. We even made a power point presentation putting forward the economic and social implication of such draconian measures. But that was an exercise in futility. A mass motion was peremptorily made and approved forthwith with utmost urgency.

Considering, however, that all such members of the House, who made that fast one, are facing an election, (and may not return to Congress), and considering that their committee approval then was not able to reach the plenary, the new Congress may have to start all over again. That vain attempt would just be remembered as a valiant legislation, in aid of reelection. Considering however that, in this country, there is no such thing as a labor vote, as shown by indubitable historical voting figures, empirical data and anecdotal evidence, then any such labor measure, no matter how sincerely put forward, would not directly influence election results. That vain attempt only served to raise the expectations of the working class.

During Martial Law, from 1972 to 1986, President Marcos established the tradition to give an annual gift to the Filipino workers by issuing Presidential Decrees increasing the minimum wage and/or granting ECOLA (Emergency Cost of Living Allowance). Labor Day happened to be the wedding anniversary of Marcos and the colorful, if controversial, Madame Imelda. Since then, the workers always looked forward to the Labor Day speech of the President and expected some good news. In fact, the 13th month pay was not authorized by law passed by any Congress. It was a Marcos creation designed to court the support of the working class. Wages, allowances and bonuses were all spontaneous acts of Presidential grace, without the benefit of any public hearing or any scientific studies.

PNoy is of different mold and character. He does not believe in doleouts. He is not prone to making a dramatic stance on Labor Day. He trusts his economic team. He relies on the wage boards. He wants to make moves based on scientific analyses. He does not need popularity. He is already very popular. And he is not running for reelection. That is why he wants to make the correct moves. The attempts of the labor committee were not right moves. They are inflationary. They drive away investors. They lead small businesses to close shop. Thus, they destroy job opportunities. Of course, we need to help the workers in terms of non-wage safety nets. We cannot, we should not abandon our workers in difficult times like these. But then again, it would be a major faux pas to ''kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.'' It would be a lose-lose proposition.