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Palace: P125 wage-hike rejection doesn't make us insensitive


After the Palace received criticisms for rejecting the proposed P125 wage increase, it defended itself on Thursday, saying it is "not insensitive" to the rights of workers. Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang said the administration is only being responsible. "To resort to something that will make [the administration] popular now, but will have long-term consequences on the economy, is something that we don't want to do at this point," he said. Carandang earlier said that the present government is not “contemplating" on certifying as urgent the bill seeking a P125 across-the-board wage hike. He, however, pointed out that instead of Congress determining the salary increase, it should be the responsibility of the National Wages and Productivity Commission, an agency attached to the Department of Labor and Employment. "We prefer that it goes through the wage board because they were able to determine what wage levels can be afforded by the economy without increasing inflationary pressures," he said. Pushing inflation higher Carandang quoted Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo as saying that the economy can afford some level of wage increase but not as high as P125. "I think our trade secretary believes that the economy can afford a certain wage increase at a certain level, pero hindi po yata pwede 'yung sinasabi nilang P125 (but maybe the P125 that they're saying won't do)," he said. The increase will "dampen" the interest of possible investors in the country and imperil the viability of firms operating in the country, Domingo said on Wednesday. High wage adjustment "could result in higher unemployment rates if existing or prospective firms decide not to expand," Domingo added. Carandang said, “The concern of the economic team is that by doing a P125 hike, you push inflation higher. Tataas ang sweldo at tataas din ang presyo ng bilihin… It’s what [we] call inflationary spiral." It will be counter productive in the end, he pointed out. — JE/VS, GMA News

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