MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros welcomed yesterday the approved P85 daily minimum wage increase for workers in Metro Manila, but said broader reforms are needed to improve employees’ living standards while supporting businesses.
Hontiveros described the wage hike as “a good start,” but said piecemeal adjustments are insufficient to address the challenges faced by workers and industries.
“We need to change the country’s flawed wage-setting system,” she said.
Hontiveros renewed her call for the passage of Senate Bill 210, the Fair Wages and Productivity Bill, which seeks to establish a two-track wage system that will require larger companies to provide a fair wage catch-up while creating a support mechanism to help micro, small and medium enterprises grow and improve productivity.
Hontiveros said the measure also retains exemptions for eligible small businesses from immediate compliance with mandated wage increases while simplifying registration, tax incentives and minimum wage exemption processes.
The bill also proposes changes in the composition of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards by making the Department of Labor and Employment the sole voting representative of national government agencies, with two governors from each region as voting members.
Employers’ groups had opposed the P85 wage hike during the tripartite deliberations, but their position was rejected. The groups promised to comply, but warned of layoffs and shutdowns especially in micro and small enterprises.