INCOME

Part l. Summary

THE BARE MINIMUM

A journal about high qualifications and low salary

Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the global economy of the
Philippines is still on track to one of the most rigorous post-recession recoveries in quite a while.
It had caused a significant dramatic loss not only in human lives but also in the economy. The
poor pandemic response has exacerbated the suffering of Filipino citizens rather than mitigating
its social and economic consequences. Due to this, the unemployment rate is one of the
backdrops of COVID-19 that drastically declined. In spite of the decline in the unemployment
rate, many companies and establishments set high and unreachable qualifications.

A common characteristic of a developing country. The labor market is divided into

two classifications "good" and "bad" jobs, with the poor primarily employed in the latter.
They are employed in low-wage, informal, temporary, or casual jobs. Due to various
widespread informality, the poor or individuals in the marginalized sector  do not stand to
gain from the minimum wage policy or employment protection legislation. They,
excessively, do not benefit from wage growth because their bargaining power is limited.

Panti (2022) stated that many jobs in the field of medicine, engineering, architecture, and
many others are hard to fill in attributable to the country's lack of wage and non-wage benefits
for workers’ despite being highly in demand. As a result, workers work overseas. Along with
this, out of 47.1 million workers, 4 million in the employment setting are minimum wage earners
and 6 million are underemployed.

Furthermore, Picodi.com (2022) as cited by Manila Standard (2022) stated that the
Philippines were one of the countries with the poorest compensation and ranked lowest in
Southeast Asia. Tilo (2022) stated that in the National Capital Region, the new minimum wage
for non-agricultural workers will be P570 while P533 for agricultural workers. The increase in
minimum wage was driven by the acceleration in prices of basic commodities and services as
well as petroleum products. Regardless of the rank of the Philippines with the poorest
compensation, firms still set high qualifications.
Part ll. Reflection

Employment is a contributing factor to economic growth. However, the Philippines have

an insufficient industrial base. Along with this, as the country strives as a developing country,
high qualifications are set yet with low minimum wages. Picodi (2022) stated that 75.1% of the
monthly salary of minimum wage earners is spent on basic food items alone. Excluding the bills
and personal demands. Nowadays, the labor market situation is challenging and demanding for
people of all ages and it is especially difficult for younger people who lack expertise and whose
skills are deemed insufficient for the employment market

The country has an abundant labor force but faces a shortage of employment
opportunities due to too high qualifications that do not align with the job position available. For
instance, a post by Puregold circulated online where the qualification for cashier, sales
lady/man, promodizer, and bagger counter should be college graduates. Those positions do not
require much knowledge and can be easily learned through training. Along with this, due to the
increasing expectations, job mismatches have become normalized. Many graduates work at
Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) companies due to high salary offers than the
respective career from the graduated course.

Ironically, despite the increasing expectations from typical citizens in the country,
qualifications for running for public service are too low wherein the standard should be high for
good governance and public accountability. As a result, bad governance will be rebirthed
insufficiently and the country will be centralized with the idea of not only corruption but lack of
transparency and accountability. Corruption diverts valuable funds into the personal
consumption of what we call "public servants" rather than taxes that could enable the economy
to grow.

Moreover, with the acceleration to qualification and a minimum wage with poor working
conditions, criminalization takes place. The marginalized sector and the working class often
experience low wages and poor working conditions. In 2020, a disgruntled former
security guard in Greenhills San Juan City made a hostage-taking due to over labor
practices and poor working conditions. The security guard named Alchie Paray claimed
that he never intended to hurt anyone but only want to raise concerns regarding
mistreatment. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) found that the agency
where Paray worked, violated labor laws including underpaying workers’ night differential
pay and failing to pay rest day premiums of employees (Galvez,2020). Unfortunately, the
security guard faces illegal detention, frustrated murder, illegal possession of explosives,
illegal possession of firearms, and bladed weapons as a reciprocal of what he did.

Moreover, as a student looking for a decent job in my college program when I

graduated, I felt apprehensive as employers are looking for an experienced worker with a
competitive background. Due to this, a lot of unethical workplace practices take place
such as the ‘backer system’. It is a patronage culture in the Philippines that is unfortunately
prevalent in government institutions, preventing qualified applicants from advancing in their
respective careers. It is also a common organizational and unethical workplace practice. It has
been the site of numerous controversies and corruption. Even if an applicant is overqualified for
a position, a complete package. If the backer system is being exercised, there is a huge
possibility that the applicant will not be hired even being qualified. If this practice continues,
even the country strives for professional workers, if the management inside the field does not
exercise professionalism, and even if the management set high qualifications if the backer
system carries on, the system is giving birth to a corrupt professional. Neglecting the code of
conduct and true professionals that are being disregarded because of the rotten system.

Part 3. Application

The Philippines is a developing country and aims to become advanced socially and
economically. The country is considered a peripheral country in which poverty and
backwardness are the primary components of why the country remained in that region. Due to
this, the country keeps pace with industrial growth in an attempt to optimize Filipinos' quality of
life and promote sustainability through setting good qualifications for the growing pool of skilled
workers.

Nonetheless, many Filipinos express their disappointment with the high standards and
unreachable qualifications of companies when hiring employees in the Philippines. Considering
nowadays, many individuals are having difficulty finding stable employment due to a lack of
work experience and a lack of impressive educational attainment. Some people remain
unemployed due to a lack of job opportunities. However, despite knowing a job opportunity and
vacant position, the standard is high for normal people. For instance, the K to 12 Basic
Education Program opens new doors and improves your chances of landing a stable job. It
ensures employment for Senior High School graduates considering the curriculum allows
students the acquisition of Certificates of Competency (COCs) and National Certificates (NCs)
in particular tracks (Official Gazette, 2012).

The curriculum has shaped students to be competent in the global job market through
immersions and complete work placements to completely introduce them to the workplace.
However, Yap (2019) stated that approximately 41% of employers and companies are
indefinitely or still determining whether they are inclined to acknowledge K-12 graduates. About
35% of the companies said that they are not yet ready to hire SHS graduates, while 24%, or 1 in
4 employers, said they accept senior high graduates as per Jobstreet.com. Similarly, the
Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) found that 22 out of 26 companies are
reluctant of accepting Senior High School graduates due to a lack of sufficient preparedness for
employment. (Business World, 2021). As a result, SHS graduates have received discrimination
and challenges in the labor market. In parallel, The Philippine Business for Education launches
a project in 2018 that aims to persuade businesses to welcome K-12 graduates, and the
response has been overwhelming. As of 2021, the project has partnered with 116 companies to
produce over 19,000 entry-level jobs for SHS graduates. Furthermore, the companies'
readiness to accept these graduates has improved. Three out of five companies have now
modified their recruitment processes to accommodate non-college graduates (Raagas, 2021).

Furthermore, seems like Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards are
having difficulties in setting minimum wage rates in the Philippines. And this is the reality
of nurses in the Philippines – Low pay, high risk. Perhaps, that is one of the reasons why
many registered nurses who graduated in the country choose to work abroad. Many
health workers express their disappointment in the salary in spite of the nature of their
job which can put their lives at risk. Nonetheless, despite low compensation, many
health workers choose to stay in the profession. According to the Department of Labor
and Employment (DOLE) as cited by Magsambol (2020) the average salary of a
registered nurse is ranging from P8,000 to P13,500 every month. In the government
sector, the average salary of a registered nurse is P13,500 per month. While in the
private sector, the average salary is roughly P10,000 only per month. Even so, Former
President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a salary standardization law that will increase the
standard of living of government employees, particularly health workers which will
rationalize their compensation.

Lastly as young professionals, we should advocate the elimination of regional wages

and the establishment of a national minimum wage. The government should raise the minimum
wage through a combination of direct wage increases, price reductions, social security
subsidies, and public service management. Implement an effective labor policy.

REFERENCES:

Business World (2021). Employers worried about SHS graduates’ readiness for work.
BusinessWorld Online. Retrieved January 20, 2023, from
https://www.bworldonline.com/labor-and-management/2021/06/25/377899/employers-
worried-about-shs-graduates-readiness-for-work/
Magsambol, B. (2020). Low pay, high risk: The reality of nurses in the Philippines. Rappler.
Retrieved January 20, 2023, from https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/259610-salary-
nurses-philippines/
Official Gazette. (2012). The K to 12 Basic Education Program. Retrieved January 20, 2023,
from https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/k-12-old/
PANTI, L. (2022). DOLE’s Laguesma: Lower salary in Philippines makes jobs in medical field,
archi, engineering hard to fill | News |. GMA News Online. Retrieved January 20, 2023,
from https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/855760/dole-s-laguesma-
lower-salary-in-philippines-makes-jobs-in-medical-field-archi-engineering-hard-to-fill/
story/
Picodi.com. (2020). Minimum wage around the world in 2022. Picodi.Com. Retrieved January
20, 2023, from https://www.picodi.com/ph/bargain-hunting/minimum-wage-2022
Raagas, J. (2021). The future of work, are we ready for it? Philippine Business for Education.
Retrieved January 20, 2023, from https://pbed.ph/blogs/1/Justine%20Raagas/The
%20future%20of%20work,%20are%20we%20ready%20for%20it?
Tilo, D. (2022). Philippines hikes compensation for minimum wage earners. HRD Asia.
Retrieved January 20, 2023, from
https://www.hcamag.com/asia/specialisation/employment-law/philippines-hikes-
compensation-for-minimum-wage-earners/406696