Fixed wage for bus drivers gain local support

CEBU, Philippines - Efforts to provide minimum wage for bus drivers is gaining more support in the local scene as the region’s LTFRB ang LTO directors both agree that providing fixed income will help bus drivers.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-7 regional director Ahmed Cuizon is yet to read the implementing guidelines of the Memorandum Circular from their head office on the effectivity of giving minimum wage to bus drivers but he agrees that bus drivers who are working beyond their normal capacity just to earn more, deserve a higher minimum pay.

Cuizon said that the problem of overworked bus drivers will be solved if they are given adequate pay by their operators.

LTO-7 regional director Raul Aguilos said that although it is one of the solutions to which he is agreeable, he still believes that self-discipline, positive values and behaviors are the best solutions to prevent accidents.

Aguilos said bus drivers can perform their task of providing better and safer travel to passengers as they are assured of being able to receive their salary regardless of the number of passengers they are able to pick-up in a day.

Aguilos added that public utility vehicle operations can easily be regulated in terminals as queuing system can be easily done and vehicles easily dispatched regardless of number of passengers.

“I fully agree with this system (minimum wage for bus drivers) which we have been advocating for a longtime already,” Aguilos said.

Earlier, Ryan Benjamin Yu, chairman of the Cebu Confederation of Transport Operators and Drivers Inc. said that there is nothing wrong if bus drivers or jeepney drivers will be given a fixed salary but before it will be implemented, all the stakeholders must be consulted in a public hearing.

Cuizon has no idea whether a public hearing will be held because he has not read the guidelines yet.

LTFRB board member Manuel Iway earlier said that effective January 16, this year, bus drivers nationwide will be receiving higher pay than minimum wage and must not work beyond eight hours.

To recall, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority have agreed to provide a fixed income among bus drivers in Metro Manila.

Yu had added that if such will also happen in Cebu, it would be advantageous on the part of the operators as the current scheme now is that drivers are given percentage as a way of salary based on the gross income in a day.

He said bus drivers normally receive more than P600 in a day as their income is based on the current set-up. Such income is way too high as compared to the current P305 daily minimum wage for Central Visayas workers.

The proposed wage scheme for bus drivers aims to implement measures in order to promote public transport safety. — (FREEMAN)