THE House Committee on Labor and Employment yesterday approved a bill mandating a P200 daily across-the-board wage increase for private sector workers, just two days after Speaker Martin Romualdez met with labor leaders and representatives of the country’s major labor groups.
The panel, chaired by Rizal Rep. Juan Fidel Nograles, approved the motion of Cotabato Rep. Ma. Alana Samantha Santos to approve the substitute bill for the “P200 Daily Across-the-Board Wage Increase Act,” consolidating House Bill Nos. 514, 7568, and 7871.
Senate President Francis Escudero said the House of Representatives’ passage of its version of a proposed legislative increase is “welcome” as this will be an opportunity to pass the much-needed measure for workers.
The Nagkaisa Labor Coalition (NAGKAISA) welcomed the approval of the P200 across-the-board daily wage increase for private sector workers, calling it “a step in the right direction.”
Nograles said the panel’s decision to approve the measure just a week before the official start of the 90-day campaign period for the May midterm elections was not political, explaining that it took the committee many months to consult with stakeholders.
“Kasi ‘apat na hearing po ‘yun; mahigit na eight months po ang naging pagdinig sapagkat kailangan ho natin bigyan ng sapat na pagkakataon lahat ng mga hanay, grupo, panig ng mga namumuhunan, mga investors, mga employers, mga manggagawa at ‘yong ating government sapagkat tripartite po ang mga usapin sa labor (Because we had four hearings; it was over eight months because we needed to give everybody a chance to speak — groups, labor organizations, investors, employers, workers and the government because labor discussions is tripartite),” he told reporters.
If enacted, the proposed law would require all private businesses, regardless of size or industry, to implement a P200 daily pay increase for their workers.
Employers who violate the proposed law face fines of P50,000 to P100,000 or imprisonment of up to four years. Violators will also be required to pay double the amount of unpaid benefits owed to their workers.
The bill prohibits employers from offsetting the increase with previously granted wage adjustments unless these were explicitly anticipated under collective bargaining agreements. It also prohibits reducing existing benefits and allowances as a result of the pay hike.
Rep. Arlene Brosas (PL, Gabriela), a member of the Makabayan bloc, welcomed the bill’s approval and urged President Marcos Jr. to certify the substitute bill as urgent to allow the House to approve it before it goes on recess next week.
“We welcome the committee approval of the consolidated wage hike proposals, but time is of the essence. President Marcos Jr. should certify this as urgent to expedite its passage before the congressional break. Filipino workers have waited long enough for a legislated wage increase,” she said.
The militant lawmaker, one of the authors of the legislated wage hike bills, maintained Congress still has sufficient time to pass the measure, “even if it means holding marathon sessions.”
“Kaya nating ipasa ito bago mag-break ang Kongreso. Kung kailangang magpalipas ng madaling araw para sa deliberasyon, dapat gawin natin ‘yan. (We can pass it before Congress goes on a break. If we need to work until midnight to deliberate on it, let’s do it). We can even push for a special session, if necessary,” Brosas said.
Only three session days are left for the House to work on the measure as it is set to adjourn on February 7, the official start of the campaign period.
The 19th Congress will resume session on June 2 but will adjourn sine die on the 13th of the same month.
MARCOS CHALLENGED
“We challenge President Marcos Jr. to heed the call of Filipino workers and their families by certifying this wage hike as urgent. While the P200 increase remains far below the living wage, it will provide immediate relief to millions of workers struggling with rising prices,” she added.
Romualdez, who met with party-list Reps. Democrito Raymond Mendoza (TUCP) and Jude Acidre (Tingog) and other labor leaders in his office last Tuesday, earlier said the consensus among House members is to approve a P200 daily wage hike, an amount double what is being proposed under the Senate-approved version of the bill.
The differences between the House and the Senate versions of the bill can be ironed out at the bicameral level although the House has the option to just adopt the Senate version to expedite the bill’s passage as time is running out.
Mendoza urged his colleagues to support the measure, which he said could be the first legislated wage hike since 1989. He said the country “demands and deserves a raise.”
“Let’s make history together, and hopefully, after 36 years, this will finally be passed,” he told the panel. “We are now closer than ever to passing the first-ever legislated P200 daily across-the-board wage increase under the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez.”
Mendoza recalled that in 1989, Congress raised the minimum wage by 40 percent without triggering massive inflation or unemployment, despite political instability at the time.
“There were two coup d’états in 1989, economic fundamentals were so bad during the time of Cory Aquino. But there was no wave of unemployment, no collapse of businesses,” he said. “For 36 years under the Regional Minimum Wage Board, almost all regional wages have remained below the poverty line. Is it our policy to give poverty wages that cannot provide a decent life for our families?”
Brosas laughed off claims by big business groups that the wage increase would only cause losses. “Kasinungalingan ang sinasabi ng mga negosyante na malulugi sila (The businessmen’s claim that they’ll lose is a lie). The truth is, workers have been subsidizing business profits with their poverty wages for decades,” she said.
“Mga malalaking negosyo ang may malaking utang sa mga manggagawa. Mas lalong kahiya-hiya na umangal sila sa wage hike samantalang sila ang nakinabang sa Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act at napakarami pa nilang tax incentives at privileges sa ilalim ng CREATE MORE Law (Big businesses are the one who owe workers. It’s more embarrassing for them to oppose the wage hike when they are the ones who benefited from the CREATE Act and they also have so many more tax incentives and privileges under the CREATE MORE Law),” she said.
Brosas said the proposed P200 daily wage hike remains insufficient compared to the P1,207 family living wage estimated by IBON Foundation as necessary to cover basic household expenses.
Castro welcomed the committee’s decision, calling it a “major step forward” in workers’ long-standing fight for higher wages. She said the bill offers a national, legislated alternative to the regional wage board system, which labor groups have long criticized for failing to keep up with inflation.
The teacher-turned-lawmaker credited the approval to the persistent lobbying and mobilization efforts of workers’ groups.
“Kung hindi tayo tumigil sa pagla-lobby, pagra-rally, pag-dialogue kay Speaker, pag-dialogue sa sino man na pwede nating makatulong sa pagtaas ng sweldo, hindi natin ito maaabot (We didn’t stop lobbying, rallying and having dialogues with the Speaker and other who can help us increase salaries that we could not attain),” Castro said.
Romualdez has said the House is considering mechanisms such as wage subsidies and exemptions for struggling MSMEs to mitigate any negative economic impacts of the wage hike.
SENATE RESPONSE
“Although we have only nine session days left, I welcome the openness of the House, at this time, to passing this Senate-initiated measure… I look forward to working with them on this,” Escudero said in a Viber message to reporters.
The Senate approved Senate Bill No. 2534 also known as the P100 Daily Minimum Wage Act of 2023 in February 2024.
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, principal author of the measure, has proposed a P150 daily minimum wage increase but senators voted to lower it to P100 a day to “provide a balanced and sustainable solution to wage disparities.”
The present daily minimum wage in the National Capital Region stands at P610.
‘ABOUT TIME’
In a statement, NAGKAISA said it is about time that lawmakers provided workers with the “much-needed and long-overdue” salary adjustment.
“We welcome the House of Representatives proposal for a P200/day wage hike nationwide, a much-needed and long-overdue relief for workers,” the group said.
“Wage hikes through legislation is just the beginning… this is a step in the right direction,” it added.
The labor group said they would stop making calls for a true living wage to be provided to workers.
“This should be supplemented by stronger worker organizing and empowerment, ensuring that employees can collectively bargain with their employers at the plant level for even better pay and benefits,” it stressed.
“A legislated increase provides much-needed relief, but true wage justice comes when workers have the power to negotiate directly with their employers,” the group added. – With RAYMOND AFRICA and Gerard Naval