The Labor and Employment Department (DoLE) said Thursday that pandemic-weakened companies are not yet able to absorb a sharp rise in the minimum wage as demanded by the unions.

Labor groups called for an increase in the minimum wage in the wake of rising prices for basic goods.

Mr. Bello, speaking in English and Filipino, said that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which make up almost 99 percent of registered enterprises, will be the hardest hit by wage increases. He said they're barely surviving because of the pandemic.

The daily minimum wage of P537 in Metro Manila is equivalent to P434 when adjusted for inflation.

The nominal daily minimum wage outside the National Capital Region (NCR) ranges from P310 to P420, falling to P234 and P333, respectively, when adjusted for inflation.
 
 Kilusang Mayo Uno, a labor union, said it would resubmit its petition to increase the minimum wage in the NCR. An earlier petition was set aside by the NCR Wage Board in June as a result of the pandemic.

The increase in wages has become "more urgent" due to rising food prices, the group said.
"As of now, the business community cannot afford to grant wage increases... Let the economy normalize before returning to the bargaining table," said Emmanuel J. Lopez, Dean of Colegio de San Juan de Letran Graduate School, Business World in a Viber Message on Thursday.
Instead of raising wages, he said the government should focus on using the P4.5-trillion national budget properly this year to help the pandemic-hit sector's rebound.

At the briefing, Mr. Bello said that more than 50,000 Filipino migrant workers have so far been inoculated against coronavirus.
He said that as many as 60,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) withdrew their applications for repatriation after receiving vaccinations in their host countries.

"Of the 500,000 OFWs that asked for repatriation, some 60,000 have backed up since they were already vaccinated," he said.

PHILSTAR