DOLE explains COLA computation and benefits

     MANILA, May 13 (PNA)-- Acting Labor and Employment Secretary Danilo P. Cruz explained on Friday that the P22 cost-of-living allowance granted under the new approved Wage Order No. 16 in the National Capital Region (NCR) is included in the computation of mandatory monetary benefits of minimum wage earners in the private sector in the region.
     "After the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in the National Capital Region has approved Wage Order No. 16 on May 9 granting a P22 COLA increase in the daily compensation of minimum wage workers in the private sector and after this has been published in a newspaper of general circulation as required, our role now is to explain the COLA computation and its benefits to our workers," said Cruz.
     According to Cruz, the COLA granted under Wage Order No. 16 is included in the computation of private sector workers' five days service incentive leave, vacation leave, sick leave, paternity and maternity leaves and leaves under Republic Act No. 9262, or the Victims of Violence against Women and their Children.
     He added that the COLA is also computed in the payment of 12 national holidays and three special holidays. it is also included in the determination of the premium payments for Social Security System (SSS) and Pag- IBIG, and separation and retirement pays.
     "Under labor standard regulations, COLAs are included in the computation of the mandatory related benefits of workers," said Cruz.
     The COLA, however, is excluded in the computation of th payment for the 13th month pay, overtime pay, night shift differential pay and PhilHealth premiums pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 525 or Letter of Instruction No. 174.
     Upon effectivity on May 26, 2011, non- agriculture workers in Metro Manila will receive a daily income of P426, while those in the agriculture, retail and services, and manufacturing establishments will get P389 daily income. Close to two million workers in the nation's premier capital will benefit from the COLA.

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     The article above which I am going to react unto is a very controversial topic circulating our country right now and is certainly one of the latest issues on our country's economy. COLA is a monetary value that cannot be neglected by Filipinos because even to its littlest value, my fellowmen, especially those who are working in private sectors, are appreciating it because of the fact that it is really a great help.
     I admire the fact that DOLE really had the senses to explain to the public what COLA covers and what does it do to the laborers of this country. In this way, people are aware of the benefits that they additionally get on their work. Also, they are generally aware of the economic progress of this country, even to the smallest incremental change.
     The fact that COLA is included to the leaves that employees take benefit to, and the special and national holidays that this country usually commemorates, I find it commendable and plausible because the days mentioned are the days that an employee cannot intentionally avoid due to valid circumstances. This means, they still earn even to the smallest amount because we all know that even the smallest amount of penny means a lot to working Filipinos nowadays.
     This successful proposal for COLA is something I cannot deny essential to every Filipino working for themselves and for their families. But one thing that makes it unpleasant for me is the inequality of distribution of additional benefits amongst the country's workers. As we all know, this COLA is only applicable to NCR workers yet. I do not know if this would come up to the south eventually.
     I have heard from my aunt that this COLA implemented in NCR also had an impact to the south but minimally. There has also been a COLA for the southern workers but not of the same value as those given to the workers in the Capital. Workers in Visayas and Mindanao is said to have only P8 for their COLA.
     P8? What is that for? That's just for one regular jeepney fare in its minimum price. I think the office for the national budget did not consider the condition of those who aren't living in the Capital. To face the fact, it is not only in the Capital that workers are having a hard time budgeting their daily income amongst their daily expenses.
     I hope that someday, there would be some actions that would bring equality to the entire nation, not leaving one behind, and not putting one ahead on the other hand.

Most PH professionals said to be dissatisfied with jobs

Most PH professionals said to be dissatisfied with jobs

By: Abigail L. Ho (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Business, April 26, 2011, Tuesday)

As many as 80 percent of local professionals are dissatisfied with their current jobs, mainly due to inadequate compensation, benefits, and work-life balance, according to a recent online survey conducted by Accenture.

The survey of around 3,400 business executives from medium to large firms across 29 countries, including the Philippines, showed that many of the dissatisfied Filipino employees were willing to leave their current jobs and find work elsewhere. Of this total, 56 percent were female and 72 percent were male.

“Philippine employers would do well, therefore, to focus on efforts addressing these three key employee retention and engagement drivers,” Accenture said in a statement, referring to better compensation, benefits and work-life balance.

As a result of their low job satisfaction level, more than half of those polled from the Philippines said they would make career planning a priority this year. According to the survey, 60 percent of the respondents are still dissatisfied with their current career levels. Around 15 percent said they would want to hold C-level positions in the future.

To achieve this, 65 percent of the Philippine respondents said they wanted to boost their knowledge, as well as expand and develop their skills sets.

“Employers need to work with their employees to find opportunities for them to grow both on a professional and personal level,” Accenture country managing director Manolito Tayag said in a statement.

Globally, 43 percent of the women and 42 percent of the men who responded to the survey said they were dissatisfied with their current employment. Despite this, 70 percent of female and 69 percent of male respondents had no plans of leaving their present companies.

Among the reasons for their dissatisfaction were inadequate compensation (47 percent of female and 44 percent of male respondents), lack of opportunity for growth (36 percent and 32 percent), no opportunity for career advancement (33 percent and 34 percent), and feeling trapped (29 percent and 32 percent).

To overcome these dissatisfaction traps, 59 percent of the women and 57 percent of the men surveyed said they would embark on activities that would develop their knowledge and skills this year, to help them advance their careers and meet their objectives.

“Today’s professionals are not job hunting, despite expressing dissatisfaction. Instead, they are focused on their skill sets and on seeking the training, the resources, and the people that can help them achieve their goals,” said Accenture chief leadership officer Adrian Lajtha.

“Leading companies should support these efforts by listening to employees and providing them with innovative training, leadership development and clearly-defined career paths,” he added.

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This quite sensitive topic that I have read extremely boggled my mind to think and be critical with the situation faced by my professional fellowmen. I have come to realize that finding a work and working for a firm is that easy to make stable. The situation on the article and some of the experiences and stories being shared to me made me see the reality of having a job. The article pronounced some reasons why Filipino professionals aren’t satisfied with their jobs. The reasons stated are the inadequate compensation, benefits and work-life balance, lack of opportunity for growth, opportunity for career advancement, and the feeling of being trapped.

With regards to the inadequate compensation and benefits that most employers give, according to the result of the survey, cannot be denied due to the fact that our country is having an economical crisis. Our country is not that rich to have a large GDP and could mean that firms can compensate as much as what their employees ask for.

The issue on the lack of opportunity for growth as one of the reasons of dissatisfaction cannot also be denied. This reason and problem is not only prevalent to our country but also to other places-- Japan, for example. The work they do that makes it as their daily routine throughout a year or more perhaps is deadening the rest of their skills besides what they religiously do. I have learned in my Sociology class that when a worker repeats his or her work again and again will numb some of the expertise of that employee that can be used hopefully to some other work. My professor also emphasized that this is really a reason why many workers resign on their job because it makes them dull, repeating the same chore over and over again, thinking that they can do more with their skills.

Everyone really opts and wants to progress on what they have currently achieved. Promotions, as what firms call the advancements are such a sweet reward to workers who work well for their employers. I think this promotion is what employees mean about career advancements. The more they are promoted, the more they are exposed to more challenging jobs and likewise boosting their self- esteem with regards to the status that they have achieved.

The feeling of being trapped is a reason of dissatisfaction that I honestly cannot comment unto unless I understand where they are being trapped. But having the chance to make an assumption to what this feeling of being trapped is, I think this is the feeling of wanting to leave a firm to set one’s life to a new world but employers are holding them to their necks and won’t allow them because such employee is a charm to the company. Many are also experiencing this kind of distress, especially the young professionals that do well on their jobs and made apple of the eye of the bosses but then decide to leave maybe because of setting anew in life.

I think the remedy to the prevailing grounds for dissatisfaction of Filipino professionals upon their work is a strong employer- employee relationship. I strongly concur to the statement uttered by Accenture country managing director Manolito Tayag with regards to how employers should work with their employees. It is such a big factor that employers reach out to their employees. In this way, they can make camaraderie and team among the company, without intimidating a person in position inferior or superior to the other.

As to what Accenture chief leadership Officer Adrian Lajtha stated about how employees opt to ask for more skills and leadership training rather than hunting jobs, I am of the same mind. I understand the side of the employees opting to stay on their company and just ask for more training than leaving and seeking for another job because job hunting is not as easy as one can think. Out of the hundreds of jobs available during a job fair, maybe not even one can suit your preference. Also, it is hard to find a job nowadays especially now that age brackets are being implemented upon application. It is somewhat unjust and unbeneficial to those who are already beyond the age bracket and wants to find a new job.

The most significant thing that I have learned on this article is the act of listening to one another. We cannot understand each other’s desire if we keep on talking and ranting out what we wish to happen if we do not listen. Listening is something important nowadays since this world is in chaos. Might as well, in the simplest way we can, we will lessen the chaos and spread the value of understanding to our land.

BSP Fear Wage Hike Effect

"A wage hike of more than P25 a day could cause prices of goods and services to increase faster than targeted, the central bank said.

According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, increasing the daily wage by more than P25 could cause demand for goods and services to rise significantly more than the growth in supply, thus causing the inflation rate to exceed the ceiling set for the year.

Labor groups are demanding wage hikes ranging from P75 to P100 a day, citing the increase in prices of oil and other basic commodities and services.

However, economists said that wage hikes should be commensurate with an increase in production of workers. They said that if wages rise faster than production, then demand for goods and services would grow faster than the rise in supply. If this happens, they said, then prices of goods and services, and thus standard of living, would increase some more." 

(Remo, M.V. [2011, April 2]. BSP fears wage hike effect. Philippine Daily Inquirer. B8)

     

     The issue about the demand for the increase in wage is really extensive to reality. Laborers demand for the increase of their salary, minding also the increase of the basic commodities. It cannot be denied that we, in our country, is experiencing economic crisis among the products that we purchase. There has been a problem with the proportionality of the wage of the laborers to the unending increase of the prices of goods. There are three points that I would like to stress out as a reaction to the article: my understanding to the laborers, my understanding to the BSP and the economists and the my overall understanding and recommendation to the issue.

      First, I truly understand the desire of the laborers to increase their salary. These people only rely on their everyday earnings to sustain their family. By the increase of the value of the commodities and basic needs, there would always be a hard adjustment for their budget. Many laborers commute to go to their workplaces and back, making this also an issue to the habitual increase in fare. By the never- ending increase in the prices of common needs, laborers and their family would also experience poverty to the large extent.

     Basing on the article above, I can personally say that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has a point to why they fear the increase of wage to laborers. This is because inflation rate will exceed its limits if the commensuration of the increase in wage and the production is unequal. If the salary of the workers will increase, this leads to more demands to goods and services. This is the fear of the BSP because the economy will more to be on the rough state. The economists affirm and agree to the concern of the BSP because the former knows best on the situation and run of the economy as it balances its way to the equilibrium.

     Hearing both sides of the concerned, I understand the points that they make. Laborers find their salary deficient to sustain their family's needs because of the crisis we are experiencing that affected the basic commodities and services that we avail. On the other hand, the BSP and the economists make it a point that there must be equality to the increase of the laborers' wage to the volume of their production so that there would not be a conflict to the demands of the society if the increase in wage will be implemented. The point of the BSP and the economists are considerably true and plausible for they make it a point to put economy to its equlibrium, preventing the rise of problems and deteriorating economic crisis.