House panel OKs bill establishing uniform wage for NCR, provincial workers

The House committee on labor and employment approved Wednesday a bill seeking to abolish the provincial minimum wage and establishing a national system that would set a uniform minimum wage for employees nationwide.

The unnumbered measure was a consolidation of House Bills 55, 94, 3266, 4102, and 5924, which aim to scrap the regional wage boards and replace them with a National Minimum Wage (NMW).

This bill aims to close wage disparities between Metro Manila and provincial workers by ensuring equal, fair wages for employees across all regions. It would amend the Labor Code of the Philippines.

If passed into law, the NMW will match the highest regional minimum wage rate, currently in Metro Manila, at P695 per day for the non-agriculture sector and P658 per day for those in the agriculture, retail, and small manufacturing sectors.

“With the committee’s approval, we are one step closer to ending decades of unfair wage disparities among Filipino workers,” panel chair Jolo Revilla said.“This national minimum wage bill reflects our commitment to 'equal pay for equal work', no matter where a worker lives or is employed.”

The bill mandates a three-year transition period during which all regional minimum wages will gradually align with the national rate.

The transition requires regions to close at least 30 percent of the wage gap in the first year, 35 percent in the second year, and the remaining balance in the third year. By the end of this period, all regions must be fully harmonized with the NMW.

The approval of the bill at the committee level was a result of renewed efforts by lawmakers to finally close the gap between the daily take-home pay of employees in Metro Manila and in the provinces following a botched attempt in previous Congresses.

Aside from a uniform minimum wage, House lawmakers in the previous 19th Congress also pushed for a P200 legislated wage hike for NCR employees, while senators proposed a P100 increase.

However, the much-awaited pro-labor bill effectively died along with the adjournment of Congress, with neither the House nor the Senate willing to compromise.

The Congress-approved measure could have been the first legislated wage hike in nearly four decades. The last increase was in 1989 when the Wage Rationalization Act (RA 6727) was passed.

President Marcos Jr. had openly expressed reservations about supporting the proposed wage hike, citing its economic and inflationary implications and adverse effects on businesses, particularly micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Employers’ groups have rejected calls for a legislated wage hike, fearing that it may lay off workers or force small businesses to shut down despite clamor from labor groups that the current wage no longer meets the needs of the workers in the face of skyrocketing prices of basic commodities, such as food, housing, and transportation.