By Gabriela Baron
A bill mandating P750 nationwide increase in the salary rate of employees and workers has been filed Monday, March 13, in the Congress.
House Bill 7568 filed by Gabriela Partylist seeks P750 across-the-board pay hike for salary of the agricultural and non-agricultural enterprise in the private sector.
“This yawning average minimum wage-family living wage gap of P750 across regions starkly represents the vast sea of unfulfilled basic necessities of ordinary Filipino families, which the national government should urgently address through substantial wage increases amid historic inflationary surges,” Assistant Minority Leader and Gabriela Women’s Partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas said.
“Tumataas ang tubo ng mga kumpanya tapos may savings pa sa mas mababang buwis sa ilalim ng CREATE Law, ngunit hindi naman tumataas ang sahod ng mga manggagawa,” Brosas added.
Citing the BusinessWorld Top 1,000 Corporations in the Philippines report, the lawmaker said the aggregate gross revenue of the top companies jumped to P13.44 trillion in 2021 from P11.44 trillion posted during the height of the pandemic in 2020.
For micro and small enterprises, Brosas said a wage subsidy program will be instituted to assist them in complying with the proposed significant wage increase.
“Significant wage increase is long overdue. Imbis na Charter Change ang atupagin ng gobyerno, dapat nitong gawing prayoridad ang umento sa sahod upang makapagbigay alwan sa tumitinding krisis sa ating bansa,” she added.
Brosas also called on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to certify the bill as urgent to “bring direct and concrete relief to millions of Filipino workers across the country.” – cf