SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Wednesday ordered the House of Representatives to fast-track hearings on a proposed legislated wage hike, which has been stalled at the labor committee for eight months.
The House will likely settle for a P200 wage hike, seen as a middle ground between the P150 and P750 minimum wage increases proposed by congressmen, he said in a statement. “The emerging consensus in the House of Representatives, pending ongoing public consultation, is that the minimum wage could potentially be increased by P200 per day.”
Separate proposals that seek to increase the wages of private-sector workers by P150 to P750 have been filed at the chamber, but they remain pending at the House labor committee, which held its last hearing on the bills in May last year.
The Senate approved a bill increasing the daily minimum wage in the private sector by P100 in February 2024.
Mr. Romualdez said the last time Congress legislated a wage hike was through the 1989 Wage Rationalization Act, which created wage boards nationwide.
The Philippines adjusts salaries through its wage boards, but slow and meager increases against the backdrop of rising prices have prompted lawmakers under President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s government to legislate wage increases.
“If we were able to do this in the past, there is no reason why we cannot do it now, especially with careful planning and collaboration with all sectors,” Mr. Romualdez said in mixed English and Filipino.
He said the House is considering wage subsidies and salary hike exemptions for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to ease the impact of a legislated wage increase.
“Our MSMEs are the backbone of our economy, and they must be protected even as we address the needs of our workers,” he said.
The Southeast Asian nation has about 1.2 million small businesses, accounting for more than 99% of total establishments, according to government data.
Meanwhile, Senator Maria Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos has filed a bill that seeks to abolish regional wage boards in favor a single wage board that will set the national minimum wage across regions to ensure pay hikes help workers cope with rising prices.
Under Senate Bill No. 2962 or the National Minimum Wage Act, which was filed on Jan. 25, the National Minimum Wages and Productivity Board will adjust the national minimum wage every year based on inflation.
“The National Wages and Productivity Board will be tasked with determining the proper minimum wage for the country through the issuance of wage orders, subject to an annual review,” she said in the bill’s explanatory note.
The new wage board must consider the right to a living wage and the cost of basic goods.
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.
Under the Senate bill, employers who fail to comply with paying their workers the national minimum wage will be fined as much as P100,000 or get jail time of as long as five years. The erring employer may also face a permit suspension of up to three years.
In its latest consumer expectations survey, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said households still expect inflation to remain above 4%. Inflation averaged 3.2% last year, and central bank expects it to stay within its 2-4% target this year.
Labor groups have said the country’s wage-setting system has failed since many workers still live in poverty even after paltry minimum wage increases.
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.
“Instead of decentralizing growth to the countryside, the (regional wage-setting system) preserves the economic inequality between the poor regions and Metro Manila and resultantly perpetuates the poverty of these poor regions and their workers,” Ms. Marcos said. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio and John Victor D. Ordoñez
