Sen Bong Go calls for wage hike approval before Congress adjourns

Senator Christopher Lawrence 'Bong' T. Go called for a bicameral conference committee to approve a measure that would implement an across-the-board wage hike for private sector workers before Congress adjourns this week.

The House of Representatives is pushing for the approval of its proposed P200 daily wage increase, while the Senate version proposes a lower P100 increase.

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and the National Wage Coalition urged both chambers to expedite the bicameral conference, ratification, and endorsement of the bill for signing.

Labor groups have previously called on the government to mandate a wage hike to address the rising cost of living in the country; the last mandated increase was under the Wage Rationalization Act of 1989.

Rizal Representative Juan Fidel Felipe Nograles stated that they are prepared to engage constructively with their Senate counterparts to unify differing proposals and craft a fair, balanced version for both labor and business sectors.