Senate fails to ratify legislated wage hike

The legislated wage hike measure has hit a snag after the Senate and the House of Representatives failed to reach a compromise over their clashing versions of the bill.

- By MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB

The legislated wage hike bill was not among the measures ratified by the Senate during plenary session last night.

Senators yesterday criticized the House's move to belatedly pass its P200 legislated wage hike bill and not adopt the Senate version for a P100 legislated wage increase, passed as early as last year.

Sen. Joel Villanueva said he wrote to the House labor committee chair to just adopt the Senate version, after a House delegation supposedly expressed its position that it was open to ratifying the Senate version.

But the House panel instead asked for a bicameral conference committee to reconcile their versions, even though yesterday was the last session day of the 19th Congress.