Operators oppose DOLE order, may seek court intervention

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Association (CPBOA) might file a motion for reconsideration and a petition for injunction to oppose the implementation of the Department of Labor and Employment order which mandates the giving of fixed salaries to bus drivers and conductors nationwide.

DOLE’s Department Order No. 118-12 states that bus drivers and conductors all over the country will receive a fixed salary from their employers beginning July 1 this year.

CPBOA spokesperson and Cebu South Mini Bus Operators Association president Julieto Flores, who is not in favor of the order, said they will have a meeting on Tuesday along with all bus operators to discuss the matter and raise the issue during the public hearing with DOLE on Wednesday.

But DOLE Regional Director Maria Gloria Tango clarified that the public hearing set on June 27 does not have anything to do with the department order but would tackle another wage issue.

It will be a public consultation as part of the process of determining the supervening condition based on the salary increase petitions filed last March by the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) and the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL).

In the order, the drivers and conductors will be entitled to both fixed and performance-based compensation schemes.

In the fixed salary scheme, bus operators/owners are required to provide their drivers and conductors with income not lower than the applicable minimum wage while the performance-based pay will be given based on their productivity, safety performance, business performance and other related parameters.

Flores said the drivers might also protest as they are also not in favor of this because they earn more revenues in the “rent and commission” system compared to the fixed salary rate.

“Daku-daku tuod og retirement pay but dili makapa-eskwela sa anak kay sa among sistema man gud, makasiguro gyud ang mga drivers nga makapa-eskwela sila sa ilang anak, bahalag di kaayo daku ilang madawat nga retirement puhon. (There may be a big retirement pay but it cannot send their kids to school. In our system, drivers are surely able to send their kids to school even if they don’t have huge retirement benefits),” he said.

Tango, on the other hand, reiterated that the order was made in order to regulate and monitor the working condition of the drivers.

“Depende na sa ilang perception. Kung atong tan-awon favorable ang order to both parties. (It depends on their perception.The order is favorable to both parties.) The order was made to regulate and monitor the working condition of our drivers,” Tango said.

She added that the order was made based on the study, wherein most of the drivers will always be in a rush just to meet their daily quota and with this, they forget the safety of their passengers and become prone to accidents.

“A minimum wage is set daily for all the drivers and conductors and in the event that they will exceed the number of hours, they will also be given an additional pay based on their productivity,” she said.

Under the department order, all drivers and conductors of the public utility bus transport industry will be considered regular workers. This would allow them to secure protection and welfare under the Labor Code.

Earlier, CITRASCO chairman Ryan Yu said the enthusiasm of the drivers will no longer be felt by fixing the salary rate and on the part of the operators, even if the drivers are not productive, the operators will be forced to give the benefits stated in the order.

Yu said he could foresee that DOLE will not only do this to bus operators but soon apply this to taxis and public utility jeepneys (PUJ) as well, which will be a bigger problem in the future.

The new regulation to be implemented by DOLE aims to improve the status of drivers and conductors as formal employees by giving them various benefits including wages not lower than the applicable minimum wage rate, 12 regular holidays with pay, one rest day a week, overtime pay, night shift pay and 13th month pay.

The drivers and conductors are also entitled to the normal eight hours of work a day, right to security of tenure, right to self organization and collective bargaining, and access to social welfare benefits including Social Security System, Philhealth, and Pag-ibig. (FREEMAN)