House approves P200 wage hike bill

THE HOUSE of Representatives on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a measure seeking a P200 across-the-board minimum wage hike for workers in the private sector, despite concerns over its potential inflationary effects and adverse impact on small businesses.

- By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio Reporter

Lawmakers voted 171-1-0 to approve House Bill No. 11376, paving the way for the possibility of a first legislated wage hike since the late 1980s, when a law created regional wage boards to dictate pay rates.

Congressmen in February passed the bill on second reading, while the Senate greenlit a counterpart bill seeking a P100 wage increase last year.

However, the House's approval of the wage hike comes just a few days before Congress adjourns for a final time on June 13.

In a statement after the approval, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) urged the House and Senate leadership to immediately convene a bicameral conference committee to reconcile disagreeing provisions of their bills.

"I appeal to all my fellow bicameral committee conferees — my counterparts in the Senate and my colleagues in the House — let us get this done, and get it done now," Deputy Speaker and TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza said in the statement. "We are way past the stage of whether we will pass a legislated wage hike, but how much that wage hike will be."

"Regardless of whether it ends up closer to P100 or P200, this will be the most significant wage increase in nearly four decades," he added.