Labor leader urges House to pass wage hike bill

FEDERATION of Free Workers President Sonny Matula hailed the Senate for passing Senate Bill 2534 or the «P100 Minimum Wage Increase Act of 2023.»

Senators approved the measure in the third and final reading on Monday.

«When we asked members about their reaction, they were happy to note that the Senate already passed the P100 wage increase nationwide, and it's a good development. Although it is not enough to satisfy the needs of our workers, it is beneficial and we are urging the House of Representatives to take the cudgel now and pass the [wage hike] proposals,» Matula told The Manila Times.

Matula urged the House of Representatives to consider the P150 wage hike proposal of Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Rep. Raymond Mendoza.

House Bill 7871 was filed by the TUCP while House Bill 7568, seeking for a P750 across-the-board wage hike, was filed by the Makabayan bloc of lawmakers.

Matula said he disagreed with the argument of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines that a P100 wage hike would be catastrophic to businesses, noting a 40 percent wage increase was implemented in 1989 with no ill effects.

«For us, it is a financial stimulus, giving our workers purchasing power so they could buy the produce of our farmers and fisherfolk, as well as other locally manufactured goods,» Matula said in Filipino.

The labor leader added that contractual workers also deserve a wage hike.

The debate over wage hike escalates as the country prepares to commemorate the 38th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution on Sunday, February 25.

«Thirty-eight years post-EDSA, it is evident that the workers have been left behind in the nation's journey toward economic progress and democracy,» Matula said.