77 House members support P150 minimum wage hike, says solon

Seventy-seven members of the House of Representatives have authored the proposed legislated P150 daily minimum wage hike for private sector workers, Cavite lawmaker Jolo Revilla said Wednesday.

Revilla, one of the authors of the measure, said his wage hike proposal has enough support among his colleagues, adding that the Philippines has one of the lowest average monthly salaries in the world even if a just and living wage is enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.

“Wages are among the most crucial conditions for work as it allows workers to make a decent living and secure a better future from their fruitful labor. The Philippines, however, has long suffered from measly wages that preves Filipinos from keeping pace with the increasing cost of living. In 2020, our average monthly salary of a worker is P15,200 and is ranked one of the lowest in 110 countries and lower than our Southeast Asian neighbors. Malaysia is at P41,300, Thailand is at P30,700 while Vietnam is at P20,000,” Revilla said during the first House labor panel public hearing on proposed wage hike bills.

"The 1987 Constitution provides for the rights of the workers, especially on just wages and humane working conditions. Kaya mataas ang tiwala ko na susuportahan ito ng kumite at magagawa natin na  isabatas ang House BIll 514 sa lalong madaling panahon. [That is why I am confident that the Committee will support this measure, and the House will be able to pass House Bill 514 into law at the soonest possible time.] As of the moment, 77 of the House members have already shown their support by being co-authors of the measure,” Revilla added.

Revilla said that the government should always strive for a minimum wage hike since it is the low income earners who suffer the most amid the surge in prices of basic goods and commodities.

“Ang patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin ay nakakaapekto sa kondisyon at kalidad ng buhay ng karamihan ng mga Pilipino, lalo na sa mga minimum wage earners nahihirapang tugunan ang kanilang araw-araw na pangangailangan,” Revilla said.

“Dahil rito, nararapat lamang na siguraduhin ng pamahalaan na isinusulong ang napapanahong polisiya at programa pagdating sa umento sa sahod para matiyak na ang bawat isa ay may pantay at sapat na oportunidad at proteksyon bilang manggagawa para mapabuti ang antas ng kanilang pamumuhay,” he added.

Aside from the P150 wage hike, Revilla’s bill also mandates the Department of Labor and Employment to conduct inspections on private sector employees to ensure that they are complying with the wage hike, as well as imposes sanctions for non-compliance.

House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, for her part, called for a P750 minimum wage hike to address the living wage gap in the country.

“If we are looking for a substantial solution, we should approve a P750 minimum wage hike because P750 is not just a random number. It represents the average gap between existing regional minimum wage rates and the P1,200 family living wage needed to attend to food and non-food needs of Filipino families amid sky-high prices,” Brosas said.

Brosas then cited that the P610 minimum wage in the National Capital Region is only 50.8% of the estimated family wage.

“There is always talk of companies shutting down and huge layoffs when the discussions of wage hike arise, but these are not true. Pag-usapan naman natin kung paano mabubuhay nang may dignidad ang isang manggagawa [Let's instead talk about how a worker can live with dignity],” Brosas pointed out.

“Sa pagtalakay ng umento sa sahod ng mga manggagawa, dapat na kinokonsidera ang mga gastusin ng pamilya sa ngayon: upa sa bahay, utilidad, pagkain, pantustos sa edukasyon, kalusugan at iba pang pangangailangan para maging nakakabuhay ang sahod,” she added.

(When discussing a wage hike for workers, a family's expenses must be taken into consideration—rent, utilities, food, tuition, health, and other needs—to ensure that the wage will be a living wage.)

Brosas, however, said she is amenable to a middle ground as long as the final proposal is attuned to the full realization of a living wage.

“Kailangan ding pag-usapan ang pagbuwag sa regional wage boards sa pamamagitan ng pagbabalik ng national minimum wage, dahil napatunayan ng barya-barya lang ang ibinibigay nitong umento sa mga manggagawa. In fact, regional wage boards have created too many fragmented wage levels even within their jurisdictions, allowing companies in specific industries to peg lower minimum wages,” she said. 

(We need to discuss the dissolution of regional wage boards by bringing back the national minimum wage, because it has been proven that the increases they give to workers are only small change.) 

The Senate approved the bill granting a P100 daily minimum wage hike for private sector workers on third and final reading last week. — BM, GMA Integrated News