A fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work? A study on the effects of fixed and performance-based compensation scheme on the labor condition of Metro Manila bus drivers

Abstract

This was a study on the effects of the newly-implemented fixed and performance-based compensation scheme on the labor condition and nature of work of bus drivers in Metro Manila, Philippines. The fixed and performance-based compensation scheme was divided into the fixed component which was based on an amount not lower than the minimum wage, and the performance-based component based on safety performance, business performance and other related parameters. Triangulation of methods was done through secondary sources, interviews and survey of 95 bus drivers. It was found that bus driver worked for more than 16 hours a day to reach their quota and eventually receive a higher wage. Added to this absence of labor standards were the lack of benefits and prevalence of occupational health issues. Thus, bus-related accidents increased due to over speeding and road-racing among bus drivers. Despite this, the fixed and performance-based wage was not widely executed. An overwhelming number of respondents asserted that the new system was not implemented by their bus operators, while the few operators who implemented the new wage still based it on commission framework. It was also found that the new compensation scheme did not cause any significant change on bus drivers’ labor condition such as wage, occupational health and work satisfaction. Significant difference was inferred only on management relations and union membership. The lax implementation of the DOLE and NWPC, the power relations between operators and drivers, and the institutionalized nature of the commission-based wage caused unfavourable labor condition and ineffectivity of the fixed and performance-based wage for bus drivers.