RP wages among hardest hit by crisis — ILO study

WAGES IN THE PHILIPPINES are among those that were hit hard by the financial and economic crisis, the International Labour Office (ILO) said in its latest report.

In the Global Wage Report 2010/2011: Wage policies in times of Crisis which it released yesterday, the ILO noted that while the global financial and economic crisis cut global wage growth by half in 2008 and 2009, Asian wage growth slowed but stayed positive at 7.1% in 2008 from 7.2% in 2007.

It added that the 8% “provisional estimate” for wage growth for last year was “the best performance of any region in the world.”

It clarified, however, that this resilience was buoyed by China, which accounted for more than half of total wage employment in Asia.

The Philippines and Malaysia actually saw wages fall “by more than 4%” in 2008, faster than Japan’s 2% dip, the same report noted. Thailand saw wages fall “by almost 2%” last year.

Globally, growth in average monthly wages slowed from 2.8% in 2007 to 1.5% in 2008 and 1.6% in 2009, the same report said.

If China were excluded, the global average wage growth would drop to 0.8% in 2008 and 0.7% in 2009.

Many countries had also seen a rise in low-wage employment in the past 15 years, including Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and the Philippines.

The report particularly noted that about 15% of workers in the Philippines are in low-wage employment.

The report analyzed data from 115 countries and territories which all account for about 94% of the approximately 1.4 billion wage earners worldwide.

In Asia, wage earners accounted for about 35% of the employed population.

Among others, the report — the second issued by the ILO on wages since 2008 — noted a growing disconnect between productivity growth and wages, as well as widespread and growing wage inequality.

It added that low pay tends to be concentrated in certain groups, such as those with low education levels, insecure jobs, workers in small enterprises, youth, women and minorities.

The report said the pace of economic recovery will depend partly on the extent by which households are able to mobilize wages to increase consumption.

“The recession has not only been dramatic for the millions who lost their jobs, but has also affected those who remained in employment by severely reducing their purchasing power and their general well-being,” a statement quoted ILO Director-General Juan Somavia as saying.  –Businessworld