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By Katrina Mennen A. Valdez, Reporter
The Joint Foreign Chambers on Tuesday slammed
the government’s plan to increase the daily minimum wage intended
to offset soaring prices of basic commodities.
Henry Schumacher, executive vice president of
the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, said in a media
briefing that member-companies of the Joint Foreign Chambers are
against the wage increase, as it would only lead to higher cost of
operations here.
“To begin with, the Philippines has never been
competitive in terms of labor cost [but] existing investors may not
leave this country, but [Filipino workers] would be less and less
competitive in terms of [their] respective price cost,” Schumacher
added.
He said a permanent wage increase would only
aggravate the real crisis that the Philippines has, which is already
less competitive in terms of labor cost within the region.
Robert Sears, executive director of the American
Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, said that instead of giving
wage increases, foreign businessmen prefer giving non-wage benefits,
as prices of basic commodities are reportedly being jacked up.
“Non-wage benefits could be done, while there
is a crisis in the prices of basic [goods] like rice, bread, and
other products,” Sears added.
Regional directors of the Departments of Trade
and Industry and Labor and Employment and the National Economic and
Development Authority are set to meet on Friday to see if they can
rush the wage boards into coming up with rulings on wage adjustments
in time for the commemoration of Labor Day on May 1.
Schumacher urged the government and academe to
come up with an intensive curriculum to enable high school graduates
to become highly skilled technical workers needed by
member-companies of the Joint Foreign Chambers.
“Not everyone should have a degree in college,
since there is a gap in highly skilled workforce here in the
Philippines,” he said.
This week, the chamber will conduct an
employment expo to scout for qualified people that the
member-companies need this year.
“This is also one way to let the academe and
the government know what kind of college graduates and skilled
workforce [our] industries need,” Sears said.
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