Northern Samar Rep. Emil Ong, chairman of the House Committee on Labor is optimistic that the legislated P125 across the board daily wage hike bill in May will be approved by the panel.
Ong said the committee is set to vote on the bill for its transmittal to the plenary after their last regional hearing in Northern Luzon in May. He added that they are seeking to approve the bill before May 1 as a gift to all Filipino workers to provide economic relief in the wake of spiraling oil prices and cost of basic commodities.
The House committee chairman said once the bill will be signed into law, Metro Manila workers will be receiving a salary amounting to more than P500, while those from the province will be getting more than P300.
He said his committee also agreed with the petition filed by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) seeking a P90 hike in the daily basic pay of workers in Metro Manila.
He dispelled fears that the passage of the proposed Act would lay off many workers since companies could find ways to sustain its operations once the bill is approved by Congress and is signed into law.
Since the P30 across-the-board increase in 1989, labor groups have long been pushing for a wage increase.
