House approves P200 minimum wage hike for private sector workers

On Monday, the House of Representatives approved on second reading House Bill (HB) No. 11376, which proposes a P200 minimum wage increase for private sector workers.

Assistant Majority Leader Anna Victoria Veloso-Tuazon announced that they would be substituting HB No. 11376 with Committee Report No. 1384 to ensure the wage hike applies only to minimum wage earners and not higher salary workers.

The bill, named the 'Wage Hike For Minimum Wage Workers Act', covers private sector workers in contractual and sub-contractual arrangements across agriculture and non-agriculture sectors.

Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas distributed copies of the substitute measure showing that it specifically targets minimum wage earners, and violators may face fines ranging from P100,000 to P500,000 or imprisonment for two to four years.

This proposed increase is higher than the Senate's approved P100 daily minimum wage hike for private sector workers in February 2024.

The bill replaces HB No. 7871, which sought a P150 across-the-board wage hike for all private sector workers, and it sets a landmark since 1989 as lauded by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

Microenterprises in the service sector including retail with 10 workers or fewer may apply for an exemption from the proposed wage increase.