Pres. Duterte Wants Equal Salaries For Manila And Provinces, Labor Sec. Bello Said

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wants workers to have the same wages as those who are working in Metro Manila to help decogest the metropolis, Labor Secretary Bello said.

Around one-tenth of the country's 100 million people are jammed in Metro Manila, where salaries are much higher compared to the provinces.

The Duterte administration is considering a "national minimum wage law" as it consolidates measures in Congress seeking salary adjustments, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III told media.

"President Rodrigo Duterte wants Metro Manila and provincial workers to have the same wage," Bello told DZMM.

"Many people flock to Manila because of the salary rate, in turn, Metro Manila suffers from overpopulation," Sec. Bello explained.

If the bill passed, the national minimum wage law would make regional wage boards "irrelevant," Bello said.

Consolidated wage hike bill will be passed by October.

Bello said he was working to "totally repeal" a department order that allowed the practice of "endo" or contractualization.

"By the end of 2016, we will reduce the incidents of endo and contractualization by 50%. By the end of 2017, there will be no more endo and contractualization," Bello said.

Source: ABS-CBN