On Bunye’s statement in behalf of Malacanañg that it must be the regional wage board to determine the actual needs in this news report, it is actually a statement of rejection to the bill and I can say it is a behest by the President so inconsiderate to the clamor of the private sector for a salary increase.
If I were to write a letter to the President:
Madam President,
It has been a long time that the ordinary wage earners waited for the approval of the bill on the across-the-board salary increase. Five years of tolerance is not even equal to P125. There is no need to enumerate the reasons for this statement because I know for a fact that these will not pass your knowledge, being the president who should watch over the citizenry’s welfare.
What does it require for the clamor to be ‘realistic’? Can the National Geographic’s description of the Philippines as ‘a nation starving to death’ suffice? Should the growing number of criminal incidents like robbery, thief, drug addiction, etc. be attributed to the government’s inability to provide a better living condition for the majority of its people? Should the rising illiteracy mean that parents cannot afford anymore to send their children to school instead be sent to work to be able to feed their mouths?
Would there be balance in what you desire to be ‘balance of interest’ when it is only the elite group of employers who would benefit from the disapproval of the bill? There is actually no balance, Mrs. President. The ordinary wage earners are not as ‘strong’ as these industrialists or investors or capitalists. What they only have is their strength to work and to serve, and be paid (mostly unreasonable salaries and wages). The bosses have wealth and power which they use most of the time. So where is balance of interest here? What interests will be served to the ordinary wage earners with the disapproval?
To give this to the regional wage boards is another move to delay the awarding of salary increases. This is not like passing your paper to your seatmate. This will again take time, and more possibly, be forgotten again for the next years to come. It would be luck if this will be tackled yet again.
While P125 pesos will not dramatically change the lives of the many Filipino workers and employees, this would surely alleviate their burdens, and give hope to their dying spirits. Please make us feel that this is not a political move again. Please disprove allegations that your plan to veto the bill is to protect the businessmen’s support for cha-cha.
A Simple Employee going downhill
But I don’t plan to send this. This will probably go to the waste basket.
hi bing, i wish you could send it to her or somebody read this and pass it to her.
ReplyDeleteThat's the problem when majority of lawmakers are themselves business owners by proxy ( they have to officially resign their business positions but their relatives take over). Some of them are puppets of big businessmen. Their interests are mainly to protect their businesses and people who contribute tons of money their party coffers to lobby for what they want done with legislation.
ReplyDeletei wish that she would listen and not be reactionary. you know how she is when she doesnt like what she hears or reads or learns from people with contrasting views, mmy-lei.
ReplyDeleteexactly what is happening... bw, at the expense of the many ordinary citizens.
you now what, you're right. this would probly go tot he waste basket.. along with all the other letters that they got with the same issue. why not post it somewhere where you can be heard? like the paper or something?
ReplyDeletebe heard? a lot had been making the noise already. but a muffled noise cannot be heard, mushy. :-(
ReplyDeletebut you had given me an idea... thanks. :-)
Actually, it's not the low wages that's the problem here, it's unemployment. A lot of businesses are closing or moving elsewhere for their production needs because they cannot compete with the dirt cheap products from China and other ASEAN countries.
ReplyDeleteThe manufacturing sector is slowly getting killed by its competitors from China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Just check out the country of origin on your favorite shampoo and chances are it was manufactured in China, Thailand or Indonesia.
That and the ever increasing militancy of the labor unions is making this country a less than attractive location to do business in. I personally know of several companies that are turning to Vietnam and China to manufacture their products.
This is really a catch 22 situation. You have a restive labor unions asking for an increase in the minimum wage on one hand, and companies barely surviving on another.
No, They won't listen! Their ears are tuned outside the universe. I guess in Mars. No, they won't see, their eyes are trained to see what they want. Their tongues are sweet-coated by power and lust and everything therein.
ReplyDeleteI hate these people. They are blind though they have functional eyes. They are deaf though have functional ears. In short, they are dumb greedy.
well said ate Bing...but then again, you're right. when was the last time the gov't listened to the people? sigh.
ReplyDeletei think unemployment and the clamor for a wage hike are two different things, single.
ReplyDeletethe scenario you just stated is a problem of the business sector which should be addressed by the government. why are there 'dirt cheap products' entering the country? because there are people who can be bribed. there must be effective people and system to monitor and control the influx of these 'dirt cheap products'. what is the government doing about this?
there is unrest, on the other hand, because there are irregularities and inconsistencies. there are companies i know who are very capable of giving increases and yet this concern about salary increase is always taken for granted. actually, the escalating prices of goods, which is also a concern that must be given attention, give rise to clamors and causes the emergence of these labor unions.
there is a part in the bible, rolly, that relates about a community that assures that everybody will be given a share in the community's yield, i.e., those who have extra will share what they have with those who are in need. i guess if the wealthy would learn to share their bounty, there would be lesser cries for salary increases.
when was the last time? i cant remember, jane.
The only way a company will be able to absorb any wage increase is to also increase the price of their manufacturing costs, and that will ultimately price them out of the market.
ReplyDeleteIt is a vicious cycle which, if not abated, will force a busines to shut down. Market forces at work here...
There is this well known brand of clothing company that purposely set up a multi million peso manufacturing facility for export purposes, that place would have employed close to a thousand people.
Prior to setting up the factory, the owners were in talks with 2 well known brands in the US, who later paid a visit to check out the facilities. But negotiations broke down because of the higher cost of manufacturing here compared to Vietnam and China. In the end, the 2 brands opted to do their business in China.
And the factory? At present, it's just sitting there, gathering dust. Leaving a thousand more to join unemployed ranks.
But then, I agree with you about the unchecked influx of goods from China. The government should adopt a strict policy against the import of these goods.
i must admit that at the rate the country is going, where even businessmen suffer from the situation, there are risks involved. however, the government should still do something for its citizenry. the leaders of this country should find the rootcause of what seem to be a gridlock in the economy. but they claim that economy is doing good and yet the people cannot feel the effects of an economy on the up. thus resulting to more clamors.
ReplyDeleteNever never believe the "good news" coming out of the palace, it doesn't matter who is residing there at the moment. It's all just to make it look like they are in control of the situation. That's why I never read the front page for economic news, I always turn to the business section instead.
ReplyDeleteThe best barometer of the economy usually are the businessmen, both foreign and local, because they are the ones shelling out the capital. And mind you, funds are getting harder to source, and these people aren't in the mood to expand their businesses these days.
Business people aren't heartless as some workers paint them to be, they can just as easily increase the wages accordingly if, and only if the economy is doing well.
The only businesses that are actually making a lot of money these days are the oil, telecommunications, power, and those call centers.
That is very true. Even with the world food suplies: the U.N. World Food Program says, there are enough food for everybody in the world but look there starving people in Africa and even here in the Phils.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard the song of U.P. prof K David and the other lady prof (i forgot the name)about "Sampung PISO". This song is about equal sharing of wealth, where the mother (Pilipinas) has 10 children. each were given PHP1. Unfortunately, meron ganid at sakim at magulang, meron tamad at mangmang.
In the course of their handling that PHP1.00 share some or many lost their share to other siblings (on various reasons). Kaya, yon, iyong iba salat, yong iba sobra-sobra, pero ganon pa rin ang total ng wealth, PHP10.00.
i would want to believe that - they are not as heartless as workers believe them to be. maybe not every businessman is heartless, maybe there are those who have the heart to feel for their workers. but work scenarios often tell otherwise, single, or i might just be speaking along with my observations.
ReplyDeletevery nice depiction, rolly..
Businesses are supposed to take care of their employee's salary increases and in many cases they do. Salary increases are pegged to industry standard "rolling rates ", for example, between 3% to 5% of annual salary.
ReplyDeleteNow comes the government's directive to provide a cost of living adjustment increase. A fixed across the board increase of P125 for every wage earner regardless of salary doesn't really amount to much. If someone is making P50,000 a month this just takes care of a parking fee. It should be applied as a percentage of salary something like 1% - 2% of salary. But again, if we can't even get P125...
and to add, this is a clamor long overdue, bw. it doesnt really amount to much because it is just more or less equal to P1,000 a month. and i am speaking again as a juan de la cruz distressed about where to get money for additional expenses.
ReplyDeleteOur company, a financial institution, pays a referral fee to its staff for recommending someone to fill in a job vacancy. It's normally $500 for a non-management opening. I recommended an acquaintance for a clerical job and he got hired. Probationary is 6 months . Guess what - this guy got released end of May, after 2 months service. He called me from home and claimed that he was framed up by the supervisor who was favoring another staff. He claimed that his performance was stellar and the supv had the problem. Guess what again - the supv he questioned was given an award for the month of May for excellent performance so I'm kinda unsure of what really transpired. Rumors I heard was my acquaintance had an attitude problem. When he called me from home he was kind of implying that I do something about it with the dept manager who I personally know which is totally foolhardy. I had done enough to bring him into the company and he botched it and I'm not going to embarrass myself. If he hung on for another month I could have gotten my $500 referral fee which is given as soon as the staff breaks the 3rd month. if you only behaved for another month you idiot I could have gotten my $500! Pfttt... my $500 gone.... silly boy.
ReplyDeletewow, sayang! well, there are employees who think so highly of themselves. guess if the case pursued, it's more likely that the supervisor will win. good decision not to help to get back, bw.
ReplyDeleteI hope there'd be increases in the salary minimum wage kahit papaano, kahit na siguro hindi aabot ng Php125 basta meron.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am apprehensive is baka maapektuhan ang competitiveness natin against other rising Asian economies like Vietnam. Baka maraming kumpanya ang mag-relocate.
i think you have reason to worry... palagi ngang yan ang dinadahilan, na mas mura labor cost ng iba. but i'm having difficulty believing they cant give it.. and besides, staggered pa ang bigay, amounting to more or less a thousand lang.
ReplyDelete[...] May kasabihan sa Ingles na; “a happy worker works harder.” Ito ang punto ni bing, sumulat siya kay Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo kung saan bilang isang “Simple employee going downhill” ay binigyan niya ng wastong pangangatwiran na tama lang ang pagbibigay ng P125 wage increase para sa mga manggagawa at iba pang nagtatrabaho. Dahil maliit man ang P125 pesos, magiging tulong na rin ito para kahit papaano ay mabawasan ang paghihirap ng mga Pilipino. [...]
ReplyDelete