The salary in the Philippines is one of the lowest in more than 100 countries, according to a study by an international e-commerce website.
According to picodi.com, the Philippines ranks 95th out of 110 countries when it comes to workers’ wages.
The average salary of the Philippines is P15,200, far from Switzerland, the highest salary payer, with an average salary of P296,000.
Salary in the Philippines is also low compared to neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The survey was conducted in August 2020 through processing data from the Numbeo website, a crowd-sourced database.
The labor group Associated Labor Unions (ALU) – Trade Union Congress of the Philippines regrets the result.
“Ang implikasyon po ng maliit na sahod ay mapipilitan ‘yung mga manggagawang maghanap ng trabaho abroad kung saan mas malaki ang sahod at mas maganda ang kanilang benepisyo o kaya ay mapipilitan na maghanap ng extra jobs,” said Alan Tanjusay, the group’s spokesperson.
The group is calling on employers to have a dialogue to increase the wages of their workers.
Salary in Philippines among the lowest in 100 countries – study
Meanwhile, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines said the ranking gave the wrong conclusion.
They say the list is lacking in context because it does not take into account the economy of each country.
“It does not mean na ‘pag mababa ‘yung (pasuweldo) mo, is, inaagrabyado natin ‘yung workers, ‘no? Ano ba ang cost of living dito? Ano ba inflation dito? Ano ba availability ng jobs? Ano ba ang investments? If you do not take that into context, eh walang meaning ‘yung pataasan sa (pasuweldo),” said ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis.
He also said that the wage increase is not timely because the country’s economy cannot afford it.
A recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed 45 percent of adult Filipinos were jobless in July amid the continuous increase of COVID-19 cases and implementation of community quarantines in the country.
The survey was conducted from July 3 to 6, with 1,555 respondents. Results showed unemployment increased by 28 points from 17.5 percent in December 2019, and a new record-high since the 34.4 percent in March 2012.
According to SWS, the estimated numbers of jobless Filipino adults were 27.3 million in July 2020 and 7.9 million in December 2019.