Bus drivers to get fixed wages, NWPC says

Bus drivers and conductors in the country will soon received "fixed wages" instead of pay based on the existing kilometer-based compensation system to prevent road accidents, the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) has said.

According to a Saleema Refran's report in GMA's 24 Oras on Tuesday, the bus drivers' wages shall be computed based on an eight-hour time rate and not on the number of times they traveled back and forth on their respective routes.

"Mas paborable ito sa mga driver and conductor kasi hindi na sila maghahapit nu'ng tinatawag natin na kung gaano karami 'yung trip na magagawa nila para lang ma-ano 'yung sa fixed rate component. So this essentially would ensure the safety of our riding public," NWPC executive director Maria Criselda Sy said.

The NWPC is an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment.

The bus drivers and conductors shall also receive a raise once the minimum wage in the area increases.

These changes are based on the operational guidelines revised by the NWPC which is set to take effect on March 9.

Transport operators, on the other hand, opposed the fixed wages for drivers and conductors. They claimed that they have not been consulted regarding the matter.

"Kung pwedeng bandying-bandying 'yan after eight hours, out na sila. 'Yun ang gagawin nila. Wala na 'yung malasakit na tinatawag sa operator. Kaya ang mangyayari diyan sila may suweldo ng fixed maliit din, on the part naman ng operator lugi naman din," said Juliet De Jesus, managing director of the Samahan ng Transport Operators ng Pilipinas.

Such change will affect the revenue of bus companies, Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines executive director Alex Yague said.

"Kahit na siguro isang roundtrip lang ang bus nakumpleto na 'yung eight hours and four hours na overtime di ba? Hindi na kikitain ng bus 'yung enough to pay the salaries of the drivers saka amortization ng bus," he added.

Some bus drivers were also not in favor of fixed wages because they believe that their take-home pay will significantly decrease.

Bus operators said they would set a meeting with Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and the NWPC to resolve the issue. —Dona Magsino/NB, GMA News