Labor groups welcomed the proposed P200 minimum wage hike for private workers filed in the House of Representatives, but maintained that it is far from their calls to raise wages for all workers to the P1,200 family living wage.
The House sponsored in plenary and greenlit on second reading Monday, House Bill 11376 or the “Wage Hike for Minimum Wage Workers Act,” which grants a P200 increase in the minimum wage of private sector workers.
“Ang P200 dagdag sahod ay bunga ng tuloy-tuloy na paggigiit ng manggagawa at mamamayan para itaas ang sahod, subalit malayo pa ito sa antas ng nakabubuhay,” said Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) secretary-general and Makabayan senatorial candidate Jerome Adonis.
During its inception, the bill pushed for a P200 across-the-board wage increase, and was poised to become the first such hike in 35 years. But a substitute measure made during the second reading narrowed the benefactors to private sector minimum wage earners only.
A probable cause of this last minute substitution was the president’s hesitancy. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. raised alarm over the potential harms of such an increase to micro, small, and medium enterprises on Jan. 30.
“The employers are worried na sinasabi nila lalong-lalo na yung mga maliliit na employer, halimbawa mga sari-sari store, mga parlor, beauty parlor, yung mga ganoon, ‘yung maliliit lamang,” Marcos said in a news release.
But economic think tank IBON noted that most employers can afford the wage increase, with micro establishments only employing 13% of workers in the country, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The bill also provides incentives for small businesses from the Department of Labor and Employment to help them meet the wage increase.
Workers, however, cannot keep up with the strain brought by the steady rise of inflation in the country brought about by the rising prices of basic commodities such as food and petrol. The PSA reported that inflation in January held steady at 2.9%, up slightly from 2.8% in January last year.
IBON also argued that Marcos should couple substantial wage hikes with a transformative economic plan that controls inflation. This includes strengthening local production, increasing supply of basic goods, and relying less on importation—steps that could help stabilize prices.
The bill was approved less than three days before the House’s adjournment.
The legislative session will resume on June 2. They will then have two weeks to pass the bill before the 19th Congress ends. Meanwhile, the Senate passed a similar bill last year, but it only proposed a P100 daily wage increase.
“But while still hopeful, we remain skeptical of Congress’s vulnerability to pressure from business groups that consistently were opposed to any wage hike,” Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa said in a statement. ●
