Jinggoy renews call for fixed salaries for bus drivers

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Jinggoy Estrada reiterated yesterday his call for the institutionalization of fixed monthly salaries and better working conditions for public utility bus drivers.

Estrada is optimistic that his proposal will also promote better road safety, improve traffic and prevent deadly highway accidents.

His call came in the wake of the deadly plunge of a Don Mariano Transit passenger bus at the Skyway last week that resulted in the death of 18 people and many others injured.

Estrada’s proposal is contained in Senate Bill 1372 or the “Bus Drivers and Conductors Compensation Program.” Estrada is the chairman of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development.

He noted that under the current “boundary” and commission-based compensation scheme, bus drivers compete with each other to get more passengers.

As a result, many drivers tend to ignore the safety of their passengers and race with other bus drivers to pick up more commuters and earn bigger commissions.

Estrada believes the compensation setup is also a cause for heavy traffic due to the indiscriminate loading and unloading of passengers, buses beating speed limits, drivers stretching work hours for bonus pay, among others.

Under Senate Bill 1372, salaries of bus drivers should not be less than the prevailing minimum wage rate and must include benefits and incentives.

“A simple computation will show that drivers currently earning P900 a day and working more than 12 hours a day for three days a week will receive almost the same income based on the minimum wage for working eight hours a day for six days a week,” the bill read.

“The difference is that under the proposed act, drivers will get enough rest while operators will spend almost the same amount for salaries,” Estrada said in the explanatory note of the bill.

The bill also requires the operators of public utility bus service to observe an eight-hour daily work scheme (including at least one hour rest period) and two-shift system.

Violators of the law shall be meted a fine of P100,000 to P200,000, and suspension of the franchise.

Estrada had also filed Senate Bill 1378 or the proposed “Comprehensive Assistance Program for Public Utility Vehicle Drivers Act” which provides that all public utility bus drivers be covered by the Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Health Insurance System (PhilHealth), Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG), and Employees Compensation Commission (ECC).