Solon on P50 wage hike in NCR: Barya na naman
Kamanggagawa party-list Rep. Eli San Fernando said the P50 hike in the minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR) announced by the wage board was "small change" (barya).
'Barya na naman. Ang hinihingi ng mga mga manggagawa, legislated wage increase, P200 pesos. Ang binigay, P50. Iyan mismo 'yung binabanggit namin na 'yung mga regional wage courts, they are not responsive to the needs of the workers,' he said.
Bills seeking to abolish regional wage rates, ban contractualization, and increase wages were among the measures filed during Day 1 of the 20th Congress at the House of Representatives.
'We want to repeal Republic Act (RA) 6727 (Wage Rationalization Act), which provides for the provincial rates because it is time for a uniform minimum wage in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. We can only do that if we repeal RA 6727,' San Fernando told reporters.
Another bill he filed sought to amend Articles 106 and 107 of the Labor Code to ban contractualization.
"Contractualization is already, in fact, illegal, but it remains rampant due to the presence of manpower agencies,' he added.
The lawmaker said he also filed a bill mandating the provision of sick leave and vacation leave, which he said is not explicitly stated in the Labor Code and thus, is only implemented based on employers' prerogative.
'Those sick and vacation leaves are not under the Labor Code. What we have in the Labor Code now is Service Incentive Leave,' he said.
Makabayan lawmakers Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers party-list and Renee Co of Kabataan, meanwhile, filed for a P1,200 national minimum wage.
'Ito ang kailangan ng ating mga kababayan: Nakakabuhay na sahod,' Tinio said in a separate interview.
(This is what the Filipino workers need: A living wage.)
Another bill filed by Makabayan bloc lawmakers is the Presyo Ibaba bill, which seeks to remove taxes on basic commodities.
The proposed legislated minimum wage hike in the 19th Congress, which is pegged at P200 at the House and P100 in the Senate, did not pass into law because the two chambers of Congress failed to reconcile them in time.
House spokesperson Princess Abante, however, maintained that House Speaker Martin Romualdez's support for the wage hike bills remains even though the Speaker is yet to file his bill seeking a wage hike.
'We saw the support of Speaker Romualdez when it comes to wage hike. Hindi naman 'yan nagbabago. Even during the 19th Congress, there were different versions of the wage hike bill, and it would need consultations with different labor groups and members of the House to ensure that the bill can be implemented,' Abante said.
"We have a strong starting point with what happened with the 19th Congress when we passed it on third and final reading. We are looking forward to seeing that same support for the legislation proposed on the wage hike,' she added.—LDF, GMA Inregrated News
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