House OKs P200 daily wage hike for private sector workers on 2nd reading

The House of Representatives on Monday approved on second reading the bill seeking P200 increase of the daily wage of workers in the private sector.

House Bill No. 11376 or the “Wage Hike For Minimum Wage Workers Act” provides that the daily rate of all minimum wage workers in the private sector, regardless of employment status, shall be increased by P200 a day.

The bill covers private sector workers in contractual and sub-contractual arrangements and whether they are working in agriculture or non-agriculture sector.

“Nothing in this Act shall prevent the respective Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards from granting additional increases to the workers and employees, as may be determined in accordance with their Republic Act No. 6727, otherwise known as the ‘Wage Rationalization Act’, as amended,” according to the proposed measure.

Further, the bill provides that small enterprises may avail of incentives from the Department of Labor and Employment that help them comply with the wage increase.

Violators of the proposed law, whether a person or an entity, shall be fined with P100,000 to P500,000, or imprisoned between two to four years.

The P200 rate increase was set after the House leaders’ meeting with labor groups.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) lauded the landmark bill, marking the wage hike since 1989.

“For the first time since 1989, we are taking the great leap forward and upward in the House of the People under Speaker Martin Romualdez to pass the ?200 legislated daily minimum wage hike. The Philippines demands and deserves a raise!,” TUCP Party-list Representative and House Deputy Speaker Raymond Democrito Mendoza said in a statement.

The Senate already approved a P100 legislated daily minimum wage hike for private sector workers in March 2024. — BAP, GMA Integrated News