Party-list group prods Congress leaders: Act on pending wage hike bills

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MANILA, Philippines — A party-list group has asked leaders of both chambers of Congress to act on the pending wage hike bills, saying that it has received significant support from lawmakers who submitted similar proposals.

During a protest on Tuesday in front of the House of Representatives gates, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party-list called on Congress to start discussions on the wage hike proposals submitted in the 19th Congress.

ACT claims that there are 58 bills in the House and 21 in the Senate which are seeking to implement wage hikes to help people cope with rising prices of basic goods and services.

“The abundance of wage hike bills filed in both chambers of Congress indicates that the measure enjoys strong support from our lawmakers. However, the Congress leadership and its responsible committees are ghosting us on this issue,” ACT chairperson Vladimer Quetua said.

“Panawagan ng mga manggagawa at kawani sa pamunuan ng Kongreso: Igalaw n’yo ang baso! Commence the deliberations on increasing wages and grant workers and employees the much-needed economic relief amid the crisis,” he added.

(The call of workers and employees to the Congress leadership: make your presence felt!)

Quetua stressed that the current wages are not enough to sustain daily needs, even as the headline inflation rate appears to have relaxed for a bit — at 7.6 percent for March compared to February’s 8.6 percent.

READ: Philippine inflation eased to 7.6% in March 

“The clamor of working Filipinos for a wage hike only gets stronger as bases for granting such are legitimate and valid.  The current level of wages and salaries of ordinary workers and employees is way below the living wage, with the 11-month straight inflation rate of above 5 percent only diminishing its purchasing power further,” he explained.

“Umaasa ang mga manggagawa, guro at kawani ng positibong pahayag mula sa ating pamahalaan hinggil sa pagtataas ng sahod sa Mayo Uno, Araw ng Paggawa,” he added.

(Workers, employees, and teachers expect a good and positive statement from our government regarding the wage hike for May 1, Labor Day.)

According to ACT, of the 58 wage increase bills filed in the House, 21 aimed to raise teachers’ salaries.  Seven of the 21 bills in the Senate are for the same purpose.

Last March 13, ACT Rep. France Castro and the rest of the Makabayan bloc filed a bill asking for a P750 across-the-board increase in the daily wages of private sector employees.

READ: House bill seeks P750 pay hike for private sector workers 

Then, just this April 19, Deputy Speaker and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza filed a separate bill asking for a P150 per day wage increase.

READ: Bill pushing for P150 increase in private workers’ daily wages filed in House 

Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas also urged the House to act on the numerous wage hike proposals, as they highlight a dire need for higher pay for workers.

READ: Gabriela Rep. Brosas says wage hike proposals must be certified as urgent 

Queta, on the other hand, said that they would hold President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accountable if the proposals are not acted upon, as raising wages had been his campaign promise.

“Ilang taon na pinaasa at binigo ng nakaraang gobyernong Duterte ang ating mga guro sa pangako nitong salary increase. Pres. Marcos made the same promise in his electoral campaign in March 2022 and we are set to press him to make good on his words,” he said.

(The past Duterte administration gave teachers broken salary increase promises for many years.)

“Hindi kami papayag na mapako na lamang sa P27,000 kada buwan ang sweldo ng mga guro habang patuloy na tumataas ang presyo ng mga batayang bilihin. On May 1, our teachers in various regions are poised to march in rallies alongside our workers to demand for substantial pay hike,” he added.

(We would not stay silent as long as teachers’ salaries were stuck at P27,000 per month when the price of goods and other commodities is continuously increasing.)

READ: Bongbong Marcos vows wage increase in a recovered economy 

JPV/abc