THE government’s economic adviser appealed for more time on calls for wage hikes for workers.
During the Laging Handa public briefing, Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said that the government may implement certain measures like the temporary suspension of excise tax and providing financial assistance to mitigate the impact of the continue price hikes on petroleum products.
He said the price hikes in the world market may be temporary due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Once the situation in other countries goes back to normal and the conflict subsides, it would be difficult to take back the wage hikes.
According to Concepcion, the big corporations can provide the needed wage hike, but it will have an adverse impact on small businesses like the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises or MSMEs.
Even the tourism sector, he said, is also starting to bounce back so it would be best to give them time to be able to recover.
He added that there is a need to balance the situation because it may be too early to provide a wage increase. “This should be discussed extensively by the government and the private sector.”