The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), on Monday, March 18, said it is pushing for a wage recovery in the country to help workers keep up with rising living costs and boost the economy.

"We are convincing the government to agree to the wage recovery from P610 to add P150 because it is also for them (the economy)," Edwin Bustillos, a Sectoral Representative of NAPC Formal Labor and Migrant Workers Sector, said in an interview.

Bustillos emphasized the current disparity between worker wages and company productivity.

"So if the productivity of the companies is better, the salary increase should also be better, and we should pursue that," he said.

He pointed out that nowadays, companies still have "stagnant" wages despite workers' rising productivity.

"But then again, the employees' wages are only stagnant at a certain level. So it seems we need to raise the workers' wages by at least P150 so that they can also recover from the increase in the price of goods," he said.

He then cited a World Bank study from 2005 to 2016 that said wage increases could drive poverty reduction and economic productivity.

Bustillos also criticized the inadequacy of regional wage boards. For instance, the lowest wage in the regional wage in Region 9 in Zamboanga is P381.

Moreover, he said that the National Capital Region (NCR) has the highest wage, but the price of goods is almost the same as in other regions. However, the salaries in these regions are lower than in NCR, which is "concerning."

"So it is said, it is about time that should be across the board, legislative wage increase and from the increase, recreate an economy, especially if there is purchasing power."

Wage increase will not 'burden' employers

The NAPC representative also stressed that research institutes from major universities support the idea that wage increases will not "burden" the employers.

"We think whether P150 or P100, but for sure it won't go higher than 150, is no longer a burden for employers," he said.

According to him, the commission and research institutes from the University of the Philippines (UP) and Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) stated that the wage increase is not "inflationary" nor a reason to fire workers.

He said the reason to close or fire an employee is the need for more competitiveness in the company's products and services.

Bustillos added that the big pay comes from the management and not from the rank and file. Therefore, the wage increase can benefit the workers without causing inflation.

"So if we talk about the discussion that happened in Congress on March 11, it seems that the congressmen are working on it so that the wage can be brought closer now," he said.

He also acknowledged that the P150 increase is not enough, but they [Congress} are in the right direction.

NAPC also noted that raising wages would boost the economy by allowing workers to spend more on essentials such as food, rent, and healthcare.

Given this, they urged employers to provide workers with additional earnings. He argued that small businesses and large corporations would benefit most from this increased economic activity because employees would still have economic activity by commuting, buying goods, etc.

"So that means there will still be additional economic activities from the 150 extra salary," he said.