HOUSE PANEL OKAYS  P200 DAILY WAGE HIKE

A BILL seeking for a legislated across-the-board daily wage hike of P200 for workers in the private sector was approved in the committee level at the House of Representatives.

The House Labor Committee unanimously approved the measure on Thursday after four hearings and more than eight months.

Under the bill, all employers in the private sector regardless of capitalization and number of employees, shall pay their workers an across-the-board wage increase of P200 a day. 

The measure prohibits employers from offsetting the increase with previously granted wage adjustments unless these were explicitly anticipated under collective bargaining agreements.

Existing benefits and allowances cannot be reduced as a result of the pay hike.

Once enacted, violators are proposed to either be fined with P50,000 to P100,000 or imprisoned for two to four years at the discretion of the Court.

The employer shall also be ordered to pay an amount equivalent to double the unpaid benefits owed to employee.

“Kailangang-kailangan na talaga na magkaroon ng panukalang dagdag-sahod o umento sa sahod ng mga manggagawa sapagkat tumataas na ang bilihin at kailangan lang po natin balansehin,” House Committee on Labor and Employment chairman and Rizal 4th district Rep. Juan Fidel Felipe Nograles said.

According to Nograles, the government will help micro, small, and medium enterprises and others who may be burdened by the proposal.

Lawmakers urged the President to certify the bill as urgent, so it can be approved on third and final reading at the Lower House before Congress adjourns session next week.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said the daily minimum pay for non-agriculture workers in Metro Manila is at P645, which the TUCP and workers’ groups said is insufficient to meet the impact of inflation on the price of food and basic necessities.

Based on the latest government data, there were 49.54 million employed Filipinos in November 2024.