19 hours Ago
File photo taken on Sept. 27, 2023 shows workers at a shoe factory in Marikina City (INQUIRER / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE) MANILA, Philippines — In time for Labor Day, Sen.
Alan Peter Cayetano sees the need to establish a labor commission. Speaking to reporters in a press conference on Wednesday, Cayetano said he discussed this proposal with Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero. “Ano ang proposal namin ni Sen.
Pia? I am also discussing this with the Senate President — a labor commission. Kung love natin ang Pilipinas, kung love natin ang laborers, [at] kung gusto nating ang mga overseas Filipino workers kapag dumating ang araw ay hindi na kailangang mag abroad, we have to have a labor commission,” he said. (What’s Sen.
Pia and I’s proposal? I am also discussing this with the Senate President — a labor commission. If we love the Philippines, if we love our laborers, and if we want our Overseas Filipino Workers to no longer work abroad, we have to have a labor commission.) But what difference could this make? Cayetano said instead of a “purely congressional labor commission,” a legislative labor commission would be better.
“So three commissioners from Congress, three commissioners from the Senate. Yung Cabinet members na involved [ay] National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Trade and Industry, Labor, and Migrant Workers and then we can get two from big business or from the employers and one or two from micro small medium enterprise and two from the labor sector,” Cayetano said. (So there will be three commissioners from Congress, three commissioners from the Senate.
Cabinet members involved are from the National Economic and Development Authority, the Department of Trade and Industry, Labor, and Migrant Workers, and then we can get two from big business or from the employers, and one or two from micro, small, and medium enterprises, and two from the labor sector.) With this, he said labor woes would be easily addressed instead of waiting for lawmakers to tackle issues. In the same presser, Cayetano was asked what would happen to the legislated wage hike should a labor commission push through.
The senator said the labor commission would develop industry-specific legislation to address the matter. “Yun nga ang problema sa legislative wage hike. Hindi magkaroon ng consensus — kung mapasa ng Senate, hindi maipasa ng House.
Sinuman ang pumasa ng mataas ina-accuse ng kabilang house [na] nagpapabango lang sa labor sector pero hindi naman kaya yun,” said Cayetano. (That’s the problem with the legislative wage hike. A consensus is hard to reach — if the Senate passes it, the House is having a hard time passing it.
Whoever passes something higher gets accused by the other house that they are only trying to impress the labor sector.) “Then when you talk to the business sector, they talk in general. In general — hindi kakayahin ang ganito, di ba? The labor comm will not talk in generalities.
It will come out industry specific,” he added. It has been over a year since the upper chamber passed Senate Bill 2534, proposing a P100 increase in the daily minimum wage of workers in the private sector. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address.
I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Meanwhile, the House of Representatives’ committee on labor and employment has so far approved a bill mandating a P200 across-the-board increase for workers in the private sector..
