WAGE INCREASE | Senators pass P100 daily minimum wage hike bill on third and final reading

February 19, 2024 , 07:47 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(February 19, 2024) – The Senate on Monday approved a measure to raise the daily minimum wage for private sector workers by P100, aimed at alleviating the burden of high costs of essential goods on workers, on the third and final reading.

With 20 affirmative votes, without any opposition or abstention, senators passed the minimum wage hike despite protests from the business community.

The wage increase would cover all minimum wage workers in the private sector, including those in contractual and sub-contractual arrangements, based on the third reading copy of the bill.

Employers who violate its provisions would be penalized with a fine of up to P100,000 plus moral damages for each affected worker and/or jail time of up to 4 years.

The employer concerned would also be ordered to pay double the unpaid benefits to their employees.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada, a co-author and sponsor of the measure, stressed the need to prioritize the needs of workers, of whom 4.1 million are minimum wage earners.

“Some may argue that implementing such measures could impose hardships on businesses and impede economic growth. However, we should remember that a flourishing economy relies on the vitality of its workforce, who are considered the lifeblood of enterprises,” he said.

The Majority floor leader, Joel Villanueva, also believed that raising the minimum wage would ease the burden of workers and their families while having a “very minimal impact on inflation and low probability of causing job losses.”

In the Lower House, separate proposals seeking P150 and P750 wage hikes for minimum wage earners in the private sector remain pending at the committee level.

Renato Magtubo, chairman of Partido Manggagawa, lauded the bill’s passage in the Upper House as a “welcome relief.”

“We will wait for the House of Representatives if they can walk their counterpart bills which are higher than the Senate’s,” Magtubo said in a statement. “Huwag sanang ang grasya ay maging bato pa kung aatras ang Kamara. Magagalit ang manggagawa.”

Based on data from the National Wages and Productivity Commission, the private sector daily minimum wage in the Philippines ranged from P316 for agricultural workers in parts of the Bangsamoro region to P610 for non-agriculture workers in the national capital region.

Sergio Ortiz Luis Jr., president of the Employers Confederation Of The Philippines (ECOP), warned that raising the minimum wage could trigger inflation and job cuts in the private sector.

“Itong mga kumpanya, ang gagawin niyan pagka walang kinalaman sa productivity, sa benta, sa kita, tinaasan mo nang ganyang kalaki, which is basically p100, basically 20% of the existing ano, e ipapatong nila roon sa paninda nila iyan.

At iyan ay kung kaya ng merkado,” Ortiz Luis said on CignalTV’s One PH channel’s program “One Balita Pilipinas.”
Trade unions have been calling for wage increases as price inflation remained a top concern to Filipinos, based on multiple opinion polls in the past year.

An economic think tank, IBON Foundation, has said wages in the Philippines have not kept up with the rising costs of goods and services.

(MM | With reports from Camille Samonte, News5)

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