Incoming legislators urged to work on living wage

NEWLY ELECTED legislators need to work on measures that ensure a living wage and security of tenure, labor analysts said.

- By Adrian H. Halili Reporter

Benjamin B. Velasco, assistant professor at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations, said members of the 20^th Congress need to respond to the labor market's wish list.

"Surveys before and during the elections consistently reveal two burning demands. One is wages and prices, another is jobs and livelihoods," Mr. Velasco told BusinessWorld via Messenger.

The Philippines elected 12 new Senators in the 24-seat Senate and hundreds of new members of the 315-seat House of Representatives on Monday. They are set to take office in July, when the 20^th Congress officially begins.

Mr. Velasco said legislators need to ditch the regional wage system and set national minimum wage.

He cited "the Constitutional mandate for a living wage rather than confusing and contradictory 10-point criteria of the existing Wage Rationalization Act."