It would be disastrous for employers to increase wages by P100.

The Employers Confederation of the Philippines opposes a Senate plan that would raise the minimum wage to P100 per day, and warns against it due to anticipated price increases and forced layoffs for struggling small businesses.

Senate Bill No. 2354 was passed on second reading on Wednesday. Ecop president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. stated at the televised Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing that economists were not likely to endorse the bill. Next week, on its third and final reading, the Senate is anticipated to approve it.

“Even economists have qualms over it. They say P30 or P60 increases are doable. But P100, that’s a catastrophe. You know what companies will do,” Ortiz-Luis noted.

Jose Ortiz-Luis, the president of the Philippines' Economic Policy and Development (Ecop), has questioned the planned P100 wage rise, claiming that only 10% of the working force engaged in stable, medium- to large-sized companies will profit from it. The remainder of the labor force, which includes tricycle drivers, farmers, and merchants, may find it difficult to command greater compensation or be employed in the unorganized sector.

Ortiz-Luis also emphasized how raising the minimum wage will raise inflation since businesses would have to pass along the expense of the wage rise to their customers, driving up the cost of goods. Furthermore, he pointed out that the country's efforts to create jobs this year would be severely impacted by the proposed wage increase, which was already discouraging investors from moving forward with their ambitions to start or grow local businesses.

The Lower House is hesitant to move quickly on a wage increase bill because they want to think through how it would affect small firms. Representer Janette Garin conceded that a P100 salary increase was "insufficient given the rising cost of living," but a P350 wage increase was still to come.

The labor coalition Nagkaisa demanded that the House move on with its own version of the bill and increase pay above what the Senate had budgeted for.

Via Philippine Inquirer