House starts tackling wage hike bills

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THE House Committee on Labor Employment yesterday began hearing various bills seeking across-the-board wage increases for workers in the private sector, following the Senate’s approval of a measure setting a P100 daily minimum wage hike.

The panel chaired by Rizal Rep. Fidel Nograles held the hearing upon the instructions of Speaker Martin Romualdez for the panel to find ways to increase the take-home pay of workers since the amount approved by the Senate is too low.

Because of this, the panel has prioritized deliberations on pending measures seeking wage increases led by Deputy Speaker Raymund Mendoza’s House Bill No. 7871 and Cavite Rep. Jolo Revilla’s House Bill No. 514, both seeking a P150 across-the-board wage increase for private sector workers.

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In sponsoring his bill, Revilla told the panel that his measure has so far been signed by at least 77 lawmakers which constitutes more than 25 percent of the total House membership.

The former actor, a son of Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., stressed that the country “has long suffered from measly wages that prevent Filipinos from keeping pace with the increasing cost of living” and that low-income earners are the ones who suffer the most in the face of hikes in the prices of basic goods and commodities.

“The 1987 Constitution provides for the rights of the workers, especially on just wages and humane working conditions. Kaya mataas ang tiwala ko na susuportahan ito ng kumite at magagawa natin na isabatas ang House Bill 514 sa lalong madaling panahon. (That’s why I’m confident that the committee will support this measure and we’ll be able to pass House Bill 514 into law soon,” he said.

Revilla lamented that in 2020, the average monthly salary of a worker was P15,200, one of the lowest in 110 countries and lower than our Southeast Asian neighbors, noting that in Malaysia it was P41,300; Thailand, P30,700; and Vietnam, P20,000.

House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe earlier said the House’s options are from P150 to P350 a day wage hike or revisions to the regional wage board mechanism.

Rep. Arlene Brosas (PL, Gabriela), a member of the Makabayan bloc, batted for the passage of her HB No. 7568 which seeks a P750 minimum wage hike “to attain a living wage.”

Brosas said the P610 minimum wage in the National Capital Region is a measly 50.8 percent of the estimated family wage and “if we are looking for a substantial solution, we should approve a P750 minimum wage hike because P750 is not just a random number.

“It represents the average gap between existing regional minimum wage rates and the P1,200 family living wage needed to attend to food and non-food needs of Filipino families amid sky-high prices,” she said.

RALLY DISPERSAL

The NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition yesterday condemned the dispersal of labor groups staging a protest in front of the House of Representatives in Quezon City.

“Before the protest could even start, the police dispersed them away from the Batasan gate and blocked their return. We condemn the actions of the police,” said NAGKAISA. “It shows a lack of respect for freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.”

Labor leaders were among those who attended the House hearing on the legislated wage hike.

According to NAGKAISA, lawmakers must side with the workers and their call to increase their salaries.

“We remind lawmakers of the provision in the Constitution stating the primacy of labor over capital as a guiding principle in deciding on this contentious issue,” the group said. — With Gerard Naval

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