Fish vendors attend to their customers at the fish section of the Commonwealth Market in Quezon City on Nov. 24, 2022. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
MANILA –– The soaring inflation in the Philippines is hitting both workers and employers which underscored the need for social dialogues to come up with beneficial measures for all, an official of the International Labor Organization said on Thursday.
"Inflation affects all of us, so we have to be in this together," ILO Project Manager Bryan Balco told ANC.
"I think there is an opportunity now for workers and employers to engage in social dialogue on how to come up with measures in protecting jobs, ensuring decent wages for our workers while at the same time, boosting enterprise productivities," he said.
Although wage hikes were approved earlier this year, the elevated prices of goods affects the purchasing power of Filipino workers, Balco said.
"There’s really a need to bridge the gap between wages and prices otherwise purchasing power of Filipinos, particularly the working class would have to contend with the continuous soaring prices," he said.
Balco said the government must also participate in a tripartite discussion, along with enterprises and workers to come up with a "win-win" situation where workers' salaries are protected and employers' businesses are also supported for growth despite economic headwinds.
Inflation in the country quickened to 7.7 in October, with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expecting inflation to settle to as much as 8.2 percent in November or more than double its 2 to 4 percent target.
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