Like any other debatable public issue, there are pros and cons related to the directive of the MMDA and the DOLE towards a fixed salary for bus drivers -- I don't know if it is or will also apply to jeep drivers -- instead of via commission basis or boundary system. But I believe the advantages considerably outweigh the disadvantages.
Of course, there can be no gainsaying the fact that several traffic accidents have been attributable to bus drivers who, in an effort to earn as much commission as permissible, do stay on the road for at least 16 hours a day and compete with one another for commuters. To gain physical strength for long driving hours, some are even addicted to drugs, while others are known to be driving under the influence of liquor. In other words, the essential objective of the directive is road accidents prevention. Pero ano naman ang kapalit? Very low take-home pay of the drivers. Consider this very simple arithmetic:
A bus driver in Metro Manila generally takes home between P1,500 to 1,800 a day. or P39,000 to P46,000 per month of 26 working days. Repeat, takes home, because his daily commission is given daily without any deduction for such items as taxes, SSS-Pag-ibig-medicare and other insurance premiums. Now, the minimum wage in Metro Manila is about P404 per day. That is equivalent to a gross pay of P10,504 per month. Repeat, gross pay, from which will be payroll-deducted SSS-Pag-ibig-Medicare premiums (never mind the tax because under the law, minimum wage earners are income-tax exempt. Aba'y saan kukunin ng kawawang driver ang malaking diperensya ng kita by which he has been used to for many years to support his family. For the government to ensure that drivers will not be tremendously tired and hence relatively immune from road accidents, the ideal would be to ensure that drivers do work only for eight hours. This will in turn entail having to hire more drivers, probably at least doubling the regular complement so that there will be a second shift to cover at least 16 hours operation per day. Some operators may even hire a third shift, since buses are on the road in Manila on round the clock basis. But hiring extra drivers entails various additional fixed costs, such as the company share on SSS, Pag-ibig and Medicare and 13th month pay. In other words, the more fixed-salaried drivers a bus company has, the more are these monthly fixed costs.
Somehow, these will minimize our unemployment rate.
But let's get real! Will bus companies indeed hire additional drivers! Very probably not at all. They will just retain, rather that increase, their present drivers, but just get each one to work overtime, at least for the next 16 hours. With that, under the Labor Code provision of 25% overtime rate per month, a driver who drives for two shifts or sixteen hours per day will be grossing P23,634 monthly (that is, P10,504 basic plus P13,130 for overtime pay), subject to deduction for SSS, etc. premiums. Still, the driver will have to knock his head vainly looking for the considerable loss in his take-home pay per month, even as he will still be on the road for sixteen hours. This will clearly be financially advantageous to the bus operators.
But has the government reduced the road accidents we experience at present. Alas, not at all! Because drivers will still be on the roads for at least 16 hours a day.
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