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Thursday, April 17, 2008
Lawmaker seeks P36 increase in metro workers' pay
MANILA -- In light of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's call for a new round of wage increases amid the soaring prices of basic commodities, the chairman of the House committee on labor has urged the regional wage boards to increase the daily pay of private workers in Metro Manila by P36 per day.
Valenzuela Representative Magtanggol Gunigundo II believed that his proposal for a P36 hike in the daily pay is already reasonable and should be considered by the wage boards. The amount, he added, is 10 percent of the minimum daily wage of P362 in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
The last wage increase in Metro Manila was P12 in August last year, raising the basic pay to P362 per day. Under the law, another increase is allowed only a year after the last one, unless there are urgent factors that constitute "supervening conditions."
Malacañang has said the President is expected to issue on May 1 an executive order granting a 10-percent wage increase for government employees as her "Labor Day gift" to them.
Gunigundo said the P125 across-the-board raise proposed by militant congressmen led by Anakpawis party-list Representative Crispin Beltran was unrealistic.
The Valenzuela congressman also said that while he respects each wage board's system of computing the increase, he would still prefer that Congress handle the matter.
He also explained about the need for government to exempt low-wage earners from income tax to address the soaring prices of commodities in the country.
"This measure is long overdue. The minimum wage workers are the ones who bear the burden of paying this tax when it is really the tax evaders who make us bleed," he said.
At least 94,202 government and private workers who are occupying salary grade 5 and below would benefit from the enactment of the bill, which still excludes uniformed personnel, Gunigundo said.
Employees who are in salary grade 5 and below categories are receiving between P7,457 and P9,209 a month in basic pay.
Antique Representative Exequiel Javier, chairman of the House committee on ways and means, said they are already set to approve next Tuesday the measure exempting minimum wage earners from paying their income taxes.
"I'm 100 percent sure of it," Javier said, adding it is part of government's efforts to cushion the rising prices of basic commodities, especially rice.
The tax exemption will cost the government about P4 billion, which is "minimal" when the plight of workers is taken into consideration.
If enacted in law, minimum wage workers will be exempted from income tax starting January 1, 2009. (WV/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo. (April 17, 2008 issue)
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