00:00 We will discuss the Senate's decision to add 100 pesos to the daily minimum wage in the private sector.
00:06 We are joined by the Employers' Confederation of the Philippines President Serio Ortiz Luis Jr. Good morning and welcome to Balitang Hali.
00:14 Good morning to you, Oli and Raffy and to our listeners.
00:21 Why did the employers refuse the Senate's decision?
00:25 Well, first of all, the Senate's priority is wrong.
00:34 There are 52 million in the labor market, including the informal market, that's 84 percent.
00:50 The formal market is only 16 percent. That's under the control of the employers, who are benefiting from the wage increase because they have employers.
01:08 The 84 percent are farmers, fishermen, type of drivers, electric drivers, migratory vendors, most of them, including the government employees,
01:24 who are more than two million, the unemployed, who are more than two million and the underemployed. That's what needs help.
01:35 The farmers are not earning. How many farmers have employers? How many employees do they have? Most of them, when they increase their salary,
01:53 they think they will increase their salary. When the commission says something, they should answer.
02:00 They don't have employers. The government is the only one expecting that. The government cannot do it.
02:07 In the informal market, the minimum wage earners in companies, if you will say across the board, and when the wage increases,
02:23 across the board, and the managers, the president, and the distortion, when you increase your salary, you also increase the amount.
02:37 From 10 to 16 percent, the 10 percent minimum wage earners are five billion. Out of the 52 billion, that's the beneficiary.
02:51 Those are better situated than the informal market. Why do we force them to give a comment every year, to help the workers?
03:04 They are not a minority among the workers.
03:07 Sir... The problem is, in the informal market, 90 percent are micro industries.
03:20 Sir, I'm sorry. I will cut you off. I'm saying that it's not money. There might be other alternatives, like other benefits that the employer can give, if the salary is not high.
03:33 That's true. That's why I'm saying, in the informal market, 90 percent are micro, 8 percent are small.
03:50 The medium, 1 percent. The large, less than 1 percent. The large and medium, that's no issue. It's higher than what they're asking for.
04:01 Even the Christmas bonus, it's 17,000 pesos. But that's not enough. It's good for my life. I can earn money.
04:12 The problem is, the micro, 90 percent, 65 percent of employment is in their hands.
04:19 I see. All right.
04:20 That's not... we will not embrace that. We will speak up because they are the ones who are affected.
04:28 Yes. Thank you very much. We will repeat this conversation.
04:35 That's Echo President Sergio Ortiz Luiz Jr. Thank you very much.
04:40 Thank you very much, Polly and Raffy.
04:44 (music)
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