House, Senate in stalemate over proposed pay hike

Rep. Fidel Nograles —Contributed photo

MANILA, Philippines — The House committee on labor and employment chair rejected on Wednesday Sen. Joel Villanueva’s appeal for the lower chamber to simply adopt its version of the proposed P100 wage hike bill in a last-minute attempt to pass it before the 19th Congress adjourns sine die on June 13.

In a letter to Villanueva on Wednesday, Rizal Rep. Fidel Nograles said they would prefer a deliberative bicameral process rather than be “bamboozled into accepting the Senate version wholesale.”

Senate Bill No. 2534, which was passed on third reading in February 2024, proposes a P100 increase in wages for private sector employees. It is slightly lower compared to House Bill No. 11376’s P200 wage hike proposal, which was approved on third reading last week.

READ: Villanueva urges House to adopt P100 wage hike bill

If both chambers manage to reconcile their versions, it could end the 36-year drought on legislated wage hikes and help close the gap between stagnant wages and rising costs of living.

In asking the House to adopt the Senate version, Villanueva argued that this could fast-track the bicameral deliberations and place the reconciled bill on President Marcos’ desk before the 19th Congress ends.

“Both Houses of Congress share the same intention to improve the quality of life of our workers and guarantee their fundamental right to fair wage. This is aligned with the constitutional mandate to ensure a living wage for every Filipino family,” he said in a letter to Nograles.

More widely acceptable

Villanueva also stressed that the Senate version of the bill, “which took into consideration the existing socioeconomic conditions and positions of various sectors, may be a more widely acceptable position to take.”

Nograles, however, refused to budge on HB 11376, saying, “this is not how co-equal chambers of Congress are expected to legislate.”

“We cannot and should not be forced into a corner where our only option is to rubber-stamp a version that does not reflect the result of honest dialogue,” he said.

A coalition of labor groups has also called on the House to heed Villanueva’s appeal and to adopt SB 2534, as this was “the only hope for the vast majority of Filipino workers, who have no union and no collective bargaining agreement for higher pay and benefits, to get the raise they long demand and deserve.”

“Time has run out for a bicameral conference. The only viable path forward is for the House to urgently adopt the Senate without further delay and debate because there is no more time,” said the National Wage Coalition. —With a report from Tina G. Santos