REPS. Jolo Revilla of Cavite, Raymond Democrito Mendoza (PL, TUCP) and Eli San Fernando (PL, Kamanggagawa) refiled the P200 wage hike bill after congressmen and senators failed to approve it in the 19th Congress.
Rep. Antonio Tinio (PL, ACT) has also refiled the Makabayan bloc’s P1,200 living wage bill under House Bill No. 202 and urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to certify the measure as urgent.
They refiled the bills a day after the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) – National Capital Region (NCR) approved a P50 daily minimum wage increase for all minimum wage earners in Metro Manila that will take effect this July 18.
Revilla, whose HB No. 78 seeks a P200 daily minimum wage hike for private sector workers, said workers, who are the backbone of the country’s economy, “deserve a wage that not only recognizes their hard work but also allows them to live with dignity and security.”
Mendoza, who filed HB No. 88, said he filed the bill as his first measure “because it is the top priority of the working-class majority of our people, especially the more than five million minimum wage earners and their families for whom the P200 wage bill is their only hope for a decent increase.”
San Fernando filed HB No.94 or the National Minimum Wage Act, which seeks to abolish the provincial wage system and establish a single, unified minimum wage nationwide.
The House earlier blamed the Senate for killing the proposed legislated wage hike bill by refusing to sit down with congressmen to reach a compromise before the 19th Congress adjourned sine die last Wednesday.
The 19th Congress ended without ratifying the wage hike bill, which was supposed to be up for bicameral deliberations with senators, whose approved version of the bill only proposes a P100 increase, half of the House-approved version.
Five more Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) are expected to kick off their minimum wage rate review process next month.
Data provided by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) showed that the regions of Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, and Soccsksargen are expected to begin their wage review process by August.
“Public consultations on new wage orders will be conducted by these regional wage boards,” said NWPC.
The effectivity of the last wage orders of their respective regional wage boards are nearing their anniversary dates.
These are September 30 for Calabarzon; October 2 for Central Visayas; and October 17 for Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and Soccsksargen.
To recall, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma previously ordered the “timely and regular review” of regional minimum wage rates to reduce uncertainties.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said the “measly increase” in the NCR minimum wage rate gives it more reason to push for the P200 legislated wage hike bill in Congress.
In a statement, TUCP said it will continuously push for the country’s first legislated wage increase in nearly four decades.
“It is the top priority of the working-class majority of our people, especially the more than five million minimum wage earners and their families,” said TUCP.
The labor group said this is because only via a legislated wage increase will the workers be entitled to living wages.
“This P200 legislated wage hike will correct that historic injustice and restore minimum wages nationwide,” said TUCP. – With Gerard Naval
