‘THAT’S UNFAIR’: Biz club slams labor group’s ‘alarmist’ tag

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

A local business group on Tuesday lamented a labor group’s statement tagging them as “alarmist” for raising their fears over the negative effects of the impending regional wage hikes citing economic data and voices on the ground.

Iloilo Business Club (IBC) Executive Director Eunice Guadalope told Daily Guardian in an interview Tuesday evening that they had been aware of the recent pushback from the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) on their opposition to the recent wage increase edicts.

Guadalope said BMP’s response calling IBC’s fears of possible business closures, operational suspensions, and lay-offs as alarmist was “unfair to [the local business sector]”.

“We would like to clarify that being an alarmist means that you cause unnecessary alarm with insufficient basis, and we would like to state that our business sector has sufficient basis to worry about the minimum wage hike. It’s not being alarmist but being practical and realistic,” Guadalope said.

“[Businesses] have told me stories and I’ve seen how they have helped their employees not only within the bounds of the law but also treated them as family, as friends, because [workers] are their partners to progress. It would be unfair to state that workers aren’t being considered in the recovery of our economy, because they are very important for the businesses, and that is why we are appealing for a non-drastic increase,” she added.

Guadalope reiterated that businesses would be heavily affected by the increase, which would see wages go up by P110 to P450 for some businesses.

She cited National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) chief Karl Chua’s statement last March indicating that the inflation rate will increase by 1 percentage point if wages rise by 6 percent.

“Most, if not all of the businesses, are saying that they are preparing for the worst because it’s not only for their own businesses but also for the economy. […] If this will really take effect on June 5, we will see an increase in prices of our basic goods and necessities. Purchasing power will still weaken,” she said.

“If this will be like in Western Visayas that there will be a 13 to 35 percent [wage] increase, we can anticipate that inflation rate will also increase by more than 1 percent. […] Our business sector is sure that they cannot carry [the wage hike]. They don’t want to burden the lives of our workers, but they also want to be given space to help their employees. The imposition of the minimum wage hike will hinder them from achieving their targets, and likewise [hurt] the economic gains of the country,” she added.

She also reiterated that they will appeal the wage hike orders issued by the regional wage board, on or before May 30, or 10 days after the publication of the wage order on May 20.

IBC was one of the lead oppositors to the P750 wage hike petition filed by Fishta Union for Empowerment and Reforms through Solidarity Action-Solidarity of Unions in the Philippines for Empowerment and Reforms (FUERSA-SUPER) last March 2022.

FUERSA-SUPER is a member organization of the BMP, a broad coalition of labor unions in the country.

(Daily Guardian is a member of the Iloilo Business Club)