Bus drivers to get regular salaries under new public safety pact

Regular salaries and better working conditions await bus drivers after labor officials signed an agreement with representatives of the bus transport industry to adopt measures to promote public transport safety. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the agreement, which stemmed from several deadly bus-related accidents, also shows the parties' commitment to working conditions. “Our tripartite partners in the bus transport sector and the concerned government agencies on road safety have recognized the need to improve the terms and conditions in the said sector as one of the interventions which will promote road transport safety," she said at the signing of the "Joint Statement of Workers, Operators, and Concerned Agencies on the Promotion of Public Transport Safety" in Manila. The joint statement stemmed from the study of a technical working group created by the 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 No. 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 issuance on matters of labor standards. Using surveys and focused group discussions, the group learned the risk-taking behavior of drivers stemmed from:

- lack of proper training on motor skills, safety, and on traffic rules - poor health due to long work hours and exposure to health hazards - lack of income security under a purely commission-based compensation scheme; weak enforcement of traffic rules and regulations - weak licensing system.

Joint statement Baldoz said the joint statement stemmed from consultations with bus operators, drivers, conductors, and concerned government agencies including the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and the Land Transportation Office (LTO). She added the workers, operators, and concerned government agencies of the said industry will also draft an action plan to implement the joint statement. 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 issuance. DOLE Regional Offices will strictly monitor compliance of bus companies to existing labor laws. For its part, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), in coordination with OSHC, LTO, LTFRB, and MMDA shall develop and administer competency-based driver training programs. The programs may include road safety, basic troubleshooting, and road traffic rules and regulations. Under the joint statement, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB) would conduct productivity training on service quality and perform work improvement measurement studies (time and motion studies), upon request by the bus companies. To enhance the social protection of workers in the said industry, all PUBs shall comply with all the mandatory social security benefits such as Social Security System (SSS), PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG, as specified by law. Signatories to the Joint Statement have also pledged to rationalize bus franchises such that it is in accordance with road capacity and ridership requirement and would tighten enforcement of rules on franchising to address problems of colorum. Social partners Social partners in the bus transport industry have also pledged to adopt international standards on traffic signs, rules and regulations throughout the country to facilitate compliance. They also agreed to maintain a central database system on traffic and traffic-related events, and develop interconnectivity of databases on all traffic and traffic-related information from MMDA, LTFRB, LTO, and PNP-HPG. Likewise, they pledged to adopt designs of road infrastructure and other street facilities which take into consideration road safety. — LBG, GMA News