A SENATOR on Wednesday urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to certify as urgent bills that seek to raise the minimum wage to help Filipinos cope with spiraling prices.
“Minimum wages should keep up with the rising prices of goods, transportation and monthly bills,” Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said in a statement. “Nothing is more urgent than raising our workers’ wages.”
This comes after the House of Representatives approved on second reading a bill that seeks to give minimum wage workers a P200 daily increase.
Congressmen passed House Bill No. 11376, which is a departure from the across-the-board hike for private sector workers endorsed by the House labor committee.
Philippine minimum wages are set by regional wage boards, which drew criticism from lawmakers due to what they perceive as its slow and meager increases amid rising prices. The Senate approved a counterpart bill for a P100 daily wage increase for private-sector workers in February last year.
“The daily rate of all minimum wage workers in the private sector, regardless of employment status, including those in contractual and sub-contractual arrangements, whether agricultural or nonagricultural, shall be increased by P200,” according to a copy of the House bill.
Microenterprises in the service sector including retail with 10 workers or fewer may apply for an exemption from the proposed wage increase.
“There is still a need to push for a P1,200 daily living wage. Filipino workers deserve a decent salary that truly meets their needs,” Ms. Hontiveros said.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) on Monday opposed the measure, saying Congress should leave wage decisions to regional wage boards and citing a potential rise in labor costs.
“For some businesses, particularly those in low-margin industries like retail, hospitality and agri-food, the wage increase forces them to pass on the cost to consumers,” PCCI President Enunina V. Mangio said in a statement.
The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board of the National Capital Region in July last year approved a P35 minimum wage hike for workers in Metro Manila, bringing the daily pay for nonagricultural workers to P645.
This was way lower than the petitions filed by labor groups seeking monthly pay increases of P597 to P750.
A Filipino family of five needs at least P13,797 a month or P460 a day to meet their basic needs, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
