The Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) is resolute in its stand that a wage increase is not only long overdue but justified as well. Thus, we hope the recent government pronouncements about possible wage increase are not just another gimmick!
Labor will consider any wage adjustment by the inutile Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards as nothing but another publicity stunt. After all, very few workers, if any, have actually benefited from the last round of minimum wage increase that the RTWPB granted last year since it was only applicable to workers earning a minimum wage; aside from providing several exemptions that effectively excluded 90 percent% of minimum wage earners.
What we want is a living wage! Thus, any wage adjustment should be across the board, nationwide and legislated! It should level off the different minimum wage rates across the country into a uniform level that approximates the living wage.
Wage levels must respond to the ever increasing cost of living that the National Wages and Productivity Commission estimated at P663 as of March 2005 for a family of six in the NCR. In fact, the Family Income and Expenditures Survey of 2003 showed that real family incomes actually fell by 10 percent.
The graveness of this situation could be seen from the fact that the richest 10 percent of the population still earns 21 times than those in the bottom 10 percent, as the FIES revealed. Therefore, much ground is yet to be covered towards addressing poverty and ensuring equitable redistribution of resources, which is lost in the mad pursuit of neoliberal policies - the wanton liberalization, privatization of government assets, including public utilities, the oil deregulation law and now the expanded value added tax, which will primarily hit the majority poor.
A wage increase is one of the ways to address the dire situation of millions of workers in the country and their families. But the government's current tack of raising taxes and cutting down on expenditures will only dampen demand and further threaten jobs. Instead of protecting jobs, the government is pushing for wrong policies again; and there is fear that any wage increase will not even be enough to cover the rising prices of electricity, water and food.
A wage increase is welcome, but the government must also pull the plug on unbridled economic liberalization, which has even worsened unemployment based on a study by LEARN. In fact, while there was nominal growth spurred by import liberalization, employment figures actually went down.
Government must also turn away from its defeatist approach towards the onerous IPP deals, which has driven the skyrocketing of electricity costs. These deals must be renegotiated with protecting public interest as the primary objective.
Tax measures such as the VAT rate increase and the lateral attrition law should be junked in the absence of a sincere drive to rid the revenue collecting agencies of graft and corruption. The oil deregulation law must be reviewed and thoroughly scrutinized because the continued increases in oil prices unnecessarily burden the consumers and workers in the pursuit of cartel profits.
By turning its back from neoliberal policies, the government will be better equipped in providing a climate in which workers enjoy the fruits of their labor, maintain their dignities, and their rights adequately promoted and protected.
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