Meager take home pay stimulate underemployment growth rate - TUCP

By TUCP
April 15, 2013

QUEZON CITY – The number of Filipinos aspiring to have extra jobs to augment current income to make both ends meet have reached almost 9 million and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) attributes this to job mismatch and low salary workers receive.

“Aside from mismatch, it is highly possible that because of low salary – notably, the daily take home pay – the underemployment rate grows at a very alarming pace. It’s puzzling trade unionists and causing discomfort to some concerned government officials,” said Gerard Seno, general-secretary of TUCP, adding: “pero totoo na dumarami ang mga manggagawa na nagsa sideline or rumaraket so to speak, to have extra income for their families to survive.”

Underemployment refers to people who desire to have an additional job or to work for longer hours for additional financial resources aside from their current employment. While a job mismatch, for example, are those nurses and teachers who end up employed as salesladies.

In Metro Manila, although the minimum daily pay is 456 pesos, the real daily take home minimum pay is only 306 pesos after factoring inflation of basic commodities and after mandatory deductions of taxes, Philhealth, Pag-ibig, and SSS, Seno said citing a recent TUCP study.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) record showed there are 7.934 million underemployed in January 2013, up by 916,000 since January 2012 (7.018 million) and 7.050 million in 2011.

The all-time high underemployment rate in six years was recorded in July 2012 with 8.55 million with more than 80 per cent of them in the agriculture and services sector like security guards, tellers, clerks, waiters, mechanics, technicians, salesladies, and service crews.

In the light of the issue, the Labor department introduced nationwide the Community Entrepreneural Development Training (EDT) and the Integrated Livelihood Program (ILP) to encourage workers to engage in livelihood like selling home-made food and items to augment family income.

The TUCP filed an 85-peso wage increase petition for Metro Manila before the wage board April 3. They also filed an 80-peso wage increase in Davao regional wage board on April 10. If granted, Davao workers will receive a minimum nominal pay of 381 pesos. The current 301 pesos minimum pay in Davao region has a buying capacity of only 216.24 pesos. After mandatory deductions, the real take home pay is only 191.75 pesos.