Senate labor panel OKs P150 wage hike bill
Published May 10, 2023 08:02 am
The Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources has “approved in principle” the bill seeking for a P150 across-the-board wage increase for all private sector workers in the country.
The panel, which is headed by Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, will now discuss the proposed graduated increase scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in a Technical Working Group (TWG).
“We expect that the committee report will come out in about two weeks, and we hope to pass the bill before we adjourn in June,” said Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, who is one of the authors of the bill.
Zubiri noted that the last legislated minimum wage increase was in 1989, at P89, before the passage of the Republic Act 6727, which created the Regional Wage Boards.
“Ang nakita po natin, with due respect sa ating Regional Wage Boards, napakababa po ng mga increase nila at napakatagal bago nila aksyunan ang problema ng pagtaas ng bilihin, at ang sigaw ng tao para sa disente man lang na sahod. Kapag umaaksyon naman sila, napakababa ng increase, between Php5.00 to Php16.00 lang (What we have seen, with due respect to our Regional Wage Boards, is that their increases are very low and it takes a long time before they act on the problem of price increases, and the people's cry for at least a decent wage. When they act, the increase is very low, only between P5.00 to P16.00),” Zubiri said during the committee hearing.
Estrada, as labor committee chair, pushed for the passage of the measure, citing the need to come up with a legislation that would improve the system being implemented in the country especially since no wage increases have been implemented following the Covid-19 pandemic. “During these times, no wage increases have been implemented, but the constant call for wages that will truly meet the basic needs of the Filipino family cannot be denied,” the senator said in Filipino.
Senators Raffy Tulfo and Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. also joined the clamor for a just and decent salary for Filipino workers noting the increase in the prices of goods and commodities in the country.
“The minimum wage we now have is extremely inadequate. Many of our laborers have long been suffering," Tulfo said in Filipino.
Revilla also pushed for a review of present wage policies to help laborers: “The salaries being received by workers are way behind the government’s conservative estimate of the cost of living a family needs in order to survive in these trying economic times.
Given that workers in both urban and rural regions are experiencing economic hardships due to the pandemic, Revilla said “an across-the-board wage increase is justified.”
Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva also said the high inflation rate, juxtaposed with the minimum wage, further reduces the purchasing power of Filipino workers.
“With a high inflation rate of 6.6 percent in April 2023, the value of real income has failed to meet the rising cost of living,” Villanueva explained.
“Let us keep in mind this basic but often ignored fact – all workers deserve a wage that is sufficiently high for them to maintain a decent quality of living and to keep their families out of poverty,” he stressed.
Zubiri, for his part, urged the business sector to cooperate on the proposed measure, reminding that the Philippines “already reached a 7.6 percent GDP growth rate” which is one of the country’s highest since 1976.
The Senate chief also argued that since many businesses have recouped from the pandemic and are back to making pre-pandemic income, it is now time to share their income with their workers.
“It’s very controversial to file a wage hike (bill). But the Senate has done so many for our business sector,” he said, citing Congress’ passage of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE Act) in 2021, which brought down Corporate Income Tax from 30 percent to 25 percent.
Zubiri also recalled how the Senate blocked the Department of Finance’s (DOF) proposal to double the dividends tax, after the passage of CREATE.
“Those were pro-business measures…It’s about time that we share. Tinulungan po namin ang business sector with pro-business legislation. Ngayon itaas naman po natin ang sweldo (we helped the business sector by passing pro-business legislation. Now, let’s increase the salaries of workers),” he said.