Bus drivers to receive basic salary starting January, says MMDA

Bus drivers will soon start having their own basic salary, in a bid to prevent them from trying to outrace each other to pick up passengers, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said that a plan is being considered to give bus drivers a regular pay starting January next year instead of being on commission basis.

Tolentino said the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) is reviewing a draft department wage order about the issue.

“Hindi na kailangan ng bagong batas, gagawan na lang ng department wage order. Tapos na yan, pinagaaralan ng DoLE sa pangangasiwa ni Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz ang mechanics,” Tolentino said in an interview over dzBB radio.

He said the mechanics are still being ironed out which include night differential, overtime pay, working hours, and packages of benefits as well as possible profit-sharing.

Earlier this month, the Labor department said better salaries and working conditions await bus drivers because labor officials signed with bus transport representatives an agreement to promote public transport safety.

Baldoz said the agreement stemmed from the study of a technical working group created by DoLE last May, following a series of bus-related accidents, including the death of journalist-professor Lourdes Simbulan in Quezon City.

Created through Administrative Order 182, the group has members from the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC); Institute for Labor Studies (ILS); Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC); and Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES).

It looked into the working conditions and pay schemes in the bus transport industry and formulated policy issuances on matters of labor standards.

The workers, operators and concerned government agencies of the public transport safety have committed to improve the working conditions in the bus transport sector by regulating the number of working hours, taking into consideration existing rules and the conditions and requirements of the industry.

Public utility bus (PUB) operators will also adopt a part-fixed and part performance-based compensation system where the fixed component will not be lower than the applicable minimum wage in the region.

The performance-based component will be based on safety (zero road accident, zero traffic violation), company revenues and other parameters of performance or productivity.

All PUB drivers and conductors will be entitled to mandatory benefits including overtime, night shift differential, rest day, holiday pay, and service incentive leave.

The DoLE’s Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC) will coordinate with the Bus (Transport) Industry Tripartite Council-National Capital Region (ITC-NCR) in holding trainings on safety and health in the bus transport sector, in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Standards and other related OSH issuances.

DoLE Regional Offices will strictly monitor compliance of bus companies to existing labor laws.

The programs may include road safety, basic troubleshooting and road traffic rules and regulations. –Jason Faustino, Daily Tribune