Bus firms start paying drivers salaries

Effective January 16, all bus drivers particularly in Metro Manila will receive a fix salary.

This, after the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) approved a Circular Order instructing bus operator to pay their passenger bus drivers a fixed salary rate” to ensure road safety through linking of labor standards compliance with franchise regulation” and curb deadly accidents since most bus drivers race with each other to pick up passengers because they are earning on commission basis.

Atty. Manuel Iway, LTFRB member of the three-man board panel said the move was based on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) rapid survey of bus drivers, conductors and operators on the working condition and compensation schemes in the bus transport sector.

Iway said that the Memorandum Circular 001 of 2012 noted that the survey indicated the risk-taking behavior of bus drivers is linked to the lack of proper training on motor skills, safety and on traffic rules and lack of income security under a purely commission-based compensation scheme.

The said survey was validated in a series of focus group discussions with bus operators, drivers, government regulating agencies and experts from the academe in the fields of engineering and traffic psychology.

The circular also noted that to strictly enforce the Memorandum Circular, the LTFRB Board thru Department of Transportation and Communication (DoTC) shall strengthen cooperation and coordination with the DOLE.

And to ensure compliance with the established standards for employment and the Board’s policies on the promotion of road safety, all Public Utility Buses (PUB) operators are required to secure Labor Standards Compliance Certificates from the DOLE.

The certificate shall indicate compliance by the PUB operators with all relevant legislations on wages, labor standards, terms and conditions of employment, and such mandatory benefits as may now or in the future be provided under the Philippine Laws – provided that – all PUB drivers and conductors shall be entitled to other mandatory compensation such as but not limited to overtime, night shift differential, rest day, holiday, birthday, and service incentive leave pays.

The circular also noted that “the number of working hours and rest periods of the drivers and conductors shall be determined taking into consideration the existing conditions, peculiarities and requirements of the transport industry.”

It also entitles the bus drivers and conductors to retirement benefits and to all mandatory social security benefits such as membership in the SSS, Philhealth and Pag-ibig as specified by law.

The circular also gives the drivers and conductors the right to organize themselves to advance their interests and welfare but should not affect public safety and convenience.  –JING VILLAMENTE, Manila Times