SSS premium hike: Labor groups join call to halt it
Inquirer file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Labor groups called on the government to fulfill its obligation to contribute to the Social Security System (SSS) fund under the law — a mandate it has failed to do for the past 70 years.
This as the groups joined the mounting calls for the SSS to temporarily suspend the mandated increase in the contribution of its members this year and prioritize instead their well-being.
A demand for transparency in the grant of incentives and other perks to the executives of the state-run pension fund in the wake of the impending hike in premium payments has been made by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III in the Senate.
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The SSS had been criticized for approving the release of millions of pesos in bonuses to reward its board members’ supposed “good performance.”“SSS should be fully transparent on the bonuses that they give to their bigwigs,” Pimentel said in a Viber message.
“The performance of the board, as well as the funds, must be audited, assessed and judged by the members themselves,” he noted.
‘Inappropriate’
According to the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, the biggest alliance of labor groups and workers organizations in the country, the timing of the increase in SSS members’ contributions was “inappropriate,” given that Congress failed to pass a legislation increasing the minimum wage of workers in the private sector.
“The deferment of the premium hike is a practical and compassionate response to the current economic reality faced by workers,” Nagkaisa said in a statement.
For Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, the increase in premium was “ill-timed” and “unjust.”
“Inflation continues to surge, driving up the prices of basic commodities and utilities. Wages have remained stagnant as our calls for a national minimum wage increase have been ignored,” it noted.
Nagkaisa stressed that the Social Security Commission, chaired by Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, has the authority under the Social Security Act of 2018 (Republic Act No. 11199) to suspend or defer contribution adjustments based on prevailing economic conditions.
The law mandates the SSS to increase its members’ contribution rate every two years, with the final 15-percent increase to take effect starting Jan. 1 this year.
Protests vs hike
Industry and labor groups, among them the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Makati Business Club, the Management Association of the Philippines, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, and the Federation of Free Workers, had protested the scheduled hike in SSS premiums.
The coalition also stressed the need for the government to fulfill its legal obligation to contribute to the SSS fund.
Under Section 20 of RA 11199, Congress is directed to annually appropriate funds to meet the estimated expenses of the SSS for each ensuing year and provide funding “from time to time” to ensure SSS’ financial sustainability, based on actuarial studies.
According to Nagkaisa, the government’s first and only contribution to the SSS fund was in 1957, amounting to P500,000, and has not made any more contributions since then.
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