House leader: Proposed P200 wage hike still not dead

National

WORKERS in the private sector who expect the P200 wage hike bill to be passed into law will have to wait until June for lawmakers to discuss it.

But Rizal Rep. Juan Fidel Felipe Nograles, chair of the House Labor and Employment Committee, assured workers not to worry.

Nograles said all efforts will be exerted, saying the “fight for better wages is still not dead.”

National legislators will resume session in June, where they are expected to tackle the proposed bill that has been pending before the House Labor and Employment Committee since last year.

House Bill (HB) 11376, or the “Wake Hike for Minimum Wage Workers Act,” has passed the House of Representatives on second reading. It proposes a P200 minimum wage increase across-the-board. The bill consolidates HB 514, 7568, 7871, and 10139, which all seek to increase the minimum wage for the private sector.

The measure covers private workers in contractual and subcontractual arrangements and those working in agricultural or non-agricultural sectors.

Also, in the bill, small enterprises may avail incentives from the Department of Labor and Employment to assist them in implementing the wage hike.

Once passed into law, violators may be fined with P100,000 to P500,000 or imprisoned between two to four years.

The measure was welcomed by labor groups, with the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) saying this marks a landmark bill since the last wage hike after 16 years or since 1989.

There’s also a Senate version of the bill proposing a P100 wage hike.

However, major business groups opposed the said measure, citing the “devastating effect on business owners,” especially the small and micro enterprises.

Business groups like Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Employers Confederation of the Philippines, People Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philippine Constructors Association, Philippine Exporters Confederation, Philippine Hotel Owners Association, Philippine Association of Legitimate Service Contractors, Philippine Retailers Association, and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry signed a letter before Nograles’ committee to air their “strong opposition” of the proposed measure.(LAO)