LEGISLATORS from the Makabayan bloc called for the passage of a bill that would set a uniform P750 national minimum wage for the private sector, which will also make the President responsible for wage setting.
It said House Bill 246, or the proposed National Minimum Wage Act, will help workers deal with rising prices, particularly fuel.
“Now more than ever, we need to immediately help (workers) cope with the crisis. Sufficient aid and a National Minimum Wage can help them survive the high cost of living,” the bloc of left-leaning legislators said in a statement.
House Bill 246 proposes to amend the Labor Code to give the President wage-setting authority for the entire country, instead of the current set-up in which the minimum wage is set regionally by wage boards.
The bill would also not recognize any wage increases won through collective bargaining as compliant with the national minimum wage.
The legislators said the current minimum wage, which is between P310 and P537 per day, is too low to support workers’ families. — Russell Louis C. Ku