Employer groups and workers on Monday appealed to the government to defer the increase in the Social Security System SSS contribution of members.
According to labor group Nagkaisa chairperson Sonny Matula, the national government should also contribute to SSS as per Section 20 of the Social Security Act of 2018.
“’Yung national government ay ni-require na magbibigay ng appropriations sa SSS annually pero hindi ito sinusunod ng ating gobyerno mula noong naitayo itong SSS,” Matula said.
“Ang nagko-contribute lang ay ang employer at workers mula 1957 maliban sa naunang P500,000 seed money ng SSS na nagmula sa gobyerno,” he added.
Meanwhile, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairperson and Employers Confederation of the Philippines president Sergio Ortiz-Luis noted that the majority of the businesses were affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
He said that an increase in SSS contribution would significantly affect the income of workers, especially the poor.
Defer SSS contribution hike – workers, employer groups
“Marami sa tao natin nawalan ng trabaho. Alam naman natin 98% ng enterprises natin eh mga micro industries. Kalahati noon halos nagsara. ‘Yung iba nag-iisip pa kung magbubukas o hindi,” Luis said.
“Napakahalaga kahit na piso eh dito sa time na ‘to dahil kulang na kulang ‘yung pera ng tao. Although, sasabihin na maliit lang naman ‘yan, eh para naman doon sa talagang isang kahig, isang tuka, malaki ‘yan, malaking bagay ‘yan,” he added.
In December, SSS announced it would implement a 13 percent increase in its members’ monthly contribution starting in January 2021.
“For employed members, land-based OFW members in countries with Bilateral Labor Agreements with the Philippines, and sea-based OFW members, the additional one percent will be divided equally between them and their employers, bringing the contribution rate breakdown to 8.5 percent for their employers and 4.5 percent for them,” SSS said.
“The minimum MSC will be raised to P3,000 from P2,000 (except for Kasambahay and OFW members whose minimum MSC will remain at P1,000 and P8,000, respectively), while the maximum MSC will be at P25,000 from P20,000,” it added.
On January 4, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the deferment of the 2021 contribution increase for PhilHealth members.
Last week, Senator Joel Villanueva and the Makabayan bloc filed bills seeking to postpone the implementation of the SSS contribution hike.