Minimum wage workers in the private sector may receive a ₱200 daily wage hike as the House of Representatives approved House Bill 11376, or the Wage Hike for Minimum Workers Act, on its third and final reading on Wednesday, June 4.
“Upon the effectivity of this Act, the daily rate of all minimum wage workers in the private sector, regardless of employment status, including those in contractual and sub-contractual arrangements, whether agricultural or non-agricultural, shall be increased by two hundred pesos (₱200) per day,” the proposed bill states.
It garnered a total of 171 affirmative votes, one negative, and no abstentions from the lawmakers. The measure is considered a historic passage in the lower chamber, as—if passed into law—it would mark the first congressional wage increase in the Philippines since 1989.
Labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno Secretary General Jerome Adonis believed that the approval of the bill “is the result of the continuous demand of workers for a living wage.”
He also added, “If it is vetoed, it will further expose how anti-worker the Marcos regime is. Our anger from decades of poverty wages will not be quelled by token ‘reforms’.”
Meanwhile, House Bill 11376 proposes a wage hike that exceeds the ₱100 increase in Senate Bill No. 2534. However, even with the ₱200 hike bringing average wages to around ₱670, it still falls short of the IBON Foundation’s recommended ₱1,225 family living wage.
The bill will move to the bicameral conference committee, where differences between the Senate and House versions will be harmonized before its final approval and submission to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.