Jinggoy Estrada supports fixed salaries for bus drivers, conductors

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada yesterday supported the provision of fixed monthly salaries for bus drivers and conductors, saying the new system upholds the rights of workers to decent wage and working conditions as it promotes road safety for commuters and common road users.

The Department of Labor and Employment recently signed a joint statement with the representatives of the transport sector in an effort to address the increasing number of road accidents, mainly caused by long working hours for drivers and commission-based compensation setup.

Estrada, chairman of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development, and of the congressional oversight committee on labor and employment, also pushed its institutionalization through the passage of Senate Bill 2922 which requires public utility bus operators to pay drivers fixed monthly salaries which shall not be less than the prevailing minimum wage.

Under the proposed “Bus Drivers and Conductors Compensation Act,” operators shall observe eight-hour driving hours (inclusive of the rest period), a two-shift system and one-hour rest per working day for drivers.

“Many accidents involve competing buses, each trying to outdo each other in getting more passengers. Sometimes, accidents are caused by tired and sleepy drivers who are forced to work for 16 to 20 hours a day,” Estrada said in the bill’s explanatory note.

In 2008, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority recorded 4,325 bus accidents in Metro Manila or a daily average of 13 accidents involving buses. In 2009, the number of these incidents decreased but was still pegged at 10 accidents per day.

“Poor working conditions and unfair boundary or commission-based systems are at the root of the problems of accidents and heavy traffic,” Estrada said.

A separate proposal filed by Estrada, Senate Bill 2908, sets coverage and benefits entitlement from Social Security System, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and Employees Compensation Commission for all public utility vehicle drivers. PNA