NEDA chief thumbs down minimum wage hike calls amid inflation

Metro Manila, March 1 ------ National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that imposing an increase in minimum wages amid steep commodity prices could be “very harmful” to the local economy.

At a House committee hearing, he warned that raising minimum wages by legislation given the current high inflation may do “more harm” in the long term. “We can’t do that,” Balisacan said. “If we want to bring this country to the league of our neighbors, the safest thing to do to increase wages is by way of expanding economic activities," he also said, "and that means a lot of investments that need to be made to complement labor."

With food prices haunting Filipinos, Balisacan said the government is addressing the “very low productivity” in agriculture by investing in the “right places,” such as improving irrigation and access to markets, as well as technology. His reaction was in response to House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro’s call to increase the purchasing power of the public as surging prices continued to hurt consumers’ wallets.

The current minimum wages range from P533 to P570 per day in the National Capital Region, while workers outside the capital get P306 to P470. Inflation, meanwhile, soared to 8.7% in January.

Source: cnnphilippines.com