THE chair of the House Committee on Labor Employment yesterday said the House leadership is not pressured by senators’ call for congressmen to pass the P100 wage hike bill, saying they would thoroughly study it and listen to all stakeholders to determine what amount would be best for workers and employers.
“Kailangan po nating pakinggan ang lahat po ng mga panig (We need to listen from both sides),” said Rizal Rep. Fidel Nograles, whose panel is set to begin hearings tomorrow on the various proposals seeking wage increases.
Speaker Martin Romualdez has already instructed House leaders to find ways to increase the take-home pay of workers, saying the P100 daily minimum wage hike approved by the Senate for private sector workers is too low.
The Nograles committee is set to prioritize deliberations on pending measures seeking wage increases, including Deputy Speaker Raymund Mendoza’s proposal for a P150 across-the-board wage increase.
House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe last Sunday said the House’s options include a legislated wage hike between P150 and P350 a day or revisions to the regional wage board mechanism.
Nograles said the labor panel has to listen to all stakeholders, including investors because they will be the ones to shoulder the pay hikes once it becomes a law.
“So alisunod po sa direktiba ng ating House Speaker, hindi po natin mamadaliin (So in accordance to the House Speaker’s directive, we will not rush this),” he said. “Pagdating po kasi sa usapin ng labor, tripartite ‘yan (When it comes to labor discussions, it’s tripartite).”
Rep. Arlene Brosas (PL, Gabriela) last week urged the House leadership to approve its version of a bill seeking to increase the salary of minimum wage workers in the private sector.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said that he would “adopt” the House of Representatives version if it will pass more than a P100 daily wage increase to minimum wage earners.
“I will adopt their bill if it is more than P100,” Estrada said in a Viber message to the media.
Estrada made the remark after Speaker Martin Romualdez instructed House leaders to come up with ways to increase the take-home pay of minimum wage earners since the P100 daily wage increase passed by the Senate last week is too low.
Sen. Francis Tolentino, in a press conference at the Senate, said talks of increasing the daily minimum wage have long been on the table amid observations that the regional wage boards were “slow to act” on the plight of workers’ wages.
“Anything that can alleviate the plight of the working class should be taken into consideration. Pero ang tanong ay kaya ba ito? (But the question now is if businesses can afford it),” Tolentino said.
Tolentino said the Senate and the House may have different versions of the legislated wage increase but it can be ironed out by convening the bicameral conference committee so both chambers can come up with a win-win solution for all.
Several businesses had expressed opposition to the proposed wage hike, saying a large number of them may be forced to stop operations since they cannot afford the proposed wage increase.
“That is worrisome. But this is an opportune time for both the upper and lower houses to talk,” he added.
Sen. Francis Escudero said the House’s pronouncement that it is eyeing a P150 to P350 legislated daily wage increase is a “welcome move,” adding: “It is nice to see that things are moving forward not only for the Filipino workers but also for both houses of Congress (as well).”
He said that despite the recent “word war” between senators and congressmen due to the People’s Initiative campaign, the Senate and House leaderships have shown their commitment to move things forward in terms of legislation.
“I have always believed that while we may disagree on a couple of things, there is so much more than we can agree on and work on together. Focusing on things that bind us and working on matters that we agree on is the key to healing and unifying not only Congress but our nation as well,” he said.
The Senate had earlier proposed a P150 daily legislated wage increase to minimum wage earners but opted to lower it down to P100 a day in consideration of the possible impact it may have on businesses, most of which are still trying to recover from the effects of the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, the Senate voted to approve the P100 legislated daily wage increase. It is now waiting for the House to come up with its version of the proposed measure.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian earlier said businesses can “absorb” the impact of the daily wage increase since corporate taxes have already been lowered.
LABOR AWAITS
Encouraged by the pronouncement of House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, the NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition (NAGKAISA) yesterday said they are looking forward to workers being given a bigger wage increase.
In a statement, NAGKAISA said they welcome the desire of the House of Representatives to provide a bigger salary adjustment for workers than the P100 daily minimum wage hike earlier approved by the Senate.
“With the House’s higher wage hike proposal than the Senate-approved P100, we in the Nagkaisa! Labor Coalition could only anticipate a more positive, amiable, and substantive meeting of minds among our lawmakers,” said NAGKAISA.
“We are happy that Congress now shares a willingness to adjust wages by way of legislation,” it added.
The labor group said such a wage hike would help workers to cope with the soaring prices of basic commodities.
“This realization marks a pivotal moment in our collective advocacy for fair wages and underscores the urgent need for a more substantial wage adjustment,” said NAGKAISA.
The group assured lawmakers that their representatives will attend the House Labor Committee’s public hearing on Wednesday, February 28.
“We will present our arguments and state our solid support to the proposed bills seeking legislated wage hikes despite variances in the amounts,” said NAGKAISA. — With Raymond Africa and Gerard Naval
