Senate bill pushes for P100 across-the-board wage hike
At A Glance
- Senators have earlier vowed to refile the bill proposing a P100 minimum daily wage increase after Congress failed to pass the measure into law during the 19th Congress.
Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go has filed the bill proposing a P100 across the board, daily wage increase.
Go made the effort following the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board’s announcement of a P50 daily wage increase for National Capital Region (NCR) workers.
Labor groups and several lawmakers have argued that it falls short of addressing the daily cost-of-living burden faced by ordinary workers, especially in urban areas.
“Kulang ‘yung singkwenta sa NCR sa totoo lang. Habang tumataas ‘yung bilihin ay kulang po ‘yung singkwenta. Kaya sana po’y maipasa itong isang daan (piso) (The P50 increase in the NCR is insufficient. With the cost of basic goods increasing, P50 is not enough. So I hope we can pass a P100 legislated wage hike),” Go stated.
The measure is among the first 10 priority bills that Go filed for the 20th Congress.
In the 19th Congress, senators have pushed for the passage of Senate Bill No. 2534 which proposed the same amount for a nationwide daily minimum wage hike.
The bill, however, failed to advance as the Senate and House of Representatives—which proposed a P200 increase—failed to agree on a final version of a legislated wage hike.
Go said he is willing to bring the issue to the table so lawmakers can discuss on the final version of the measure.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada also vowed to refile this 20th Congress the same proposal of a ₱100 legislated wage increase.
Estrada also frowned on the proposed P50 daily wage increase approved by the regional tripartite board citing the need to pass a realistic legislated wage hike.
“Based on consultations with various stakeholders during the Senate hearings on the proposed legislated wage increase—which I conducted as the then chairperson of the labor committee—the most we can propose, while balancing the welfare of both workers and businesses, is a ₱100 daily pay hike for around 4.2 million wage earners ‘nationwide’,” Estrada said.
“The ₱50 increase granted by the NCR Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) is a welcome development, as any adjustment to workers’ daily pay is timely and truly necessary to help keep up with the rising cost of living. However, I believe our kababayans deserve more than that,” he stressed.