P150 wage hike inihain sa Senado

Ni NOEL ABUEL

Naghain ng panukalang batas si Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri na naglalayong itaas ang sahod sa pribadong sektor sa lahat ng rehiyon ng P150.00.

Sa Senate Bill No. 2002, o ang Across-the-Board Wage Increase Act of 2023, sinabi nitong sakop nito ang buong private sector, agricultural at non-agricultural, anuman ang kapital at bilang ng manggagawa nito.

“A decent life costs a decent wage. If workers are putting in hours and hours of labor, day after day, and yet are still unable to afford their rent, bills, and basic necessities, then there is a problem,” paliwanag ni Zubiri.

“In the Senate, we addressed the collective bargaining of our employees’ union for increased benefits, in accordance with the rising costs of commodities. And now, with this bill, I hope to answer similar calls from workers across the country, with an across-the-board wage hike,” dagdag nito.

Sa kasalukuyan, ang National Capital Region (NCR) ang pinakamataas ang daily nominal wage rate sa P570.00 (non-agriculture), habang ang pinakamababa ay P316.00 (non-agriculture) para sa Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Sinabi pa ni Zubiri na kahit ang minimum wage sa pribadong sektor ay nasa ilalim ng Regional Wages and Productivity Boards, napipigilan ito sa pagpapalabas lamang ng isang pasahod sa bawat taon, maliban kung idedeklara nito ang supervining conditions.

Idinagdag pa nito na sa pagsisimula ng taon, nakita ng Pilipinas ang pinakamataas na inflation rate sa loob ng labing-apat na taon, na pumalo sa 8.7 porsyento. At nitong Pebrero tinanggap nito ang isang marginal na pagbaba sa 8.6 porsyento.

“While our GDP is going up, we have to make sure that our economic growth actually cascades to our people. Otherwise, we’re just widening the gap between rich and poor,” ayon pa kay Zubiri.

“What we want is to lift everyone up, broaden our middle-income class, and ensure that every Filipino has the means to enjoy a genuinely decent life. That means empowering people not just to survive, but to actually achieve a level of comfort that allows them to pursue their personal goals and interests, beyond just their work,” paliwanag pa nito.