The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) called on the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to adopt a program for minimum wage-setting that will be equitable for employers and employees.

This is one of the various resolutions that ECOP crafted as part of the two-day 45th National Conference of Employers themed “Job Generation in a Technology-Driven Environment” at the Manila Hotel.

“The government and the social partners must promote minimum wage-setting mechanisms that consider productivity, the market value of jobs, and the financial capacity of businesses, particularly the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to ensure sustainable job creation and business growth.

Such scheme must also consider “the impact on the majority of the population that will not benefit from such adjustments,” the resolution, approved by ECOP officials and members said.

Mandated hike raises concern

Earlier, ECOP aired a deep concern about the proposed P100 national wage hike in the private sector, which, according to the group, is a dangerous precedent considering that the Senate has recently approved on 3rd and final reading Senate Bill 2534 or “An Act Providing for P100 Daily Minimum Wage Increase for Employees and Workers in The Private Sector.”

The Senate bill aims at adjusting the minimum wage for private-sector employees — in the formal sector.

ECOP said that aside from the private sector employees, there are also public sector (government) employees and workers in the informal sector, who will not benefit from the proposed adjustments but will suffer its ill effects.

The group maintained that if the proposed legislated wage hike is enacted into law, more than eight out of 10 workers in the government and the informal sector will not receive any adjustment.

“Only the roughly 4 million workers receiving minimum wages will receive the P100/day wage increase, while the other employees in the formal sector will likely receive token wage distortion adjustments,” the group said.

Other resolution

Also, ECOP, chaired by Edgardo Lacson, has called on the government, academe, and education and training institutions to prioritize developing life skills, technological skills, and soft skills required for employment, particularly among the youth and underserved sectors of society.

Such scheme must also consider the impact on the majority of the population that will not benefit from such adjustments.

Further, they asked the government, in partnership with social partners, to develop national resilience programs, social protection mechanisms, and transition strategies that will support both workers and employers from technological, climate and geopolitical disruptions.

“The government must provide incentives and subsidies for businesses that adopt advanced technologies and sustainability mechanisms, providing training programs for their workers to acquire relevant skills,” the group stated in its resolution.

Moreover, they also urged the government and social partners to continue to encourage bipartism, tripartism, and social dialogue to address workplace issues, particularly in improving job generation, upholding fair compensation for workers, and ensuring enterprise sustainability over the long term.

“Further, the government must strictly adhere to the principles of tripartism in considering appointment to tripartite bodies,” the group noted.

ECOP aired its resolutions as the world’s economies continue to recover toward a new normal.

The demand for jobs that require new skill sets will likewise increase; as artificial Intelligence, machine learning, and other new technologies will reshape workplace configurations, policies, processes, and strategies, and will require massive reskilling and upskilling of workers; as these technological disruptions together with issues on climate change, demographic shifts, and geopolitics will create both opportunities and challenges that will impact social dialogue and collaboration among bipartite and tripartite partners in addressing issues in a technology-driven environment.