Minimum wage earners in Zamboanga Peninsula to get P30 pay hike

Private sector workers in Region IX or Zamboanga Peninsula should expect higher pay by the middle of this month after the region’s wage board approved an increase in daily minimum wages across all sectors, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Tuesday.

In a statement, the DOLE announced that the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) affirmed on October 24 the wage orders submitted by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Region IX.

The affirmed wage orders were published on October 27 and shall take effect 15 days after publication, or on November 12, 2023.

In particular, the RTWPB Region IX issued motu propio Wage Order No. RIX-22 on October 16, which granted a P30 daily minimum wage increase across all sectors upon effectivity.

The wage board also approved a second tranche pay hike of P13 to employees in retail or service establishments which employ 10 to 30 workers. This will take effect on February 1, 2024.

The DOLE said once effective, the daily minimum wage in Zamboanga Peninsula will go up to P381 from P351 for the non-agriculture sector and retail/ service establishments with 31 or more workers.

Meanwhile, the daily minimum wage for workers in retail establishments with 10 to 30 workers will increase to P368 from P338, and upon the effectivity of the second tranche, the minimum pay will go up to P381.

For workers in the agriculture sector, the minimum pay will be adjusted upward to P368 from P338.

Moreover, the RTWPB Region IX also motu propio issued Wage Order No. RIX-DW-04, increasing the monthly minimum wage of domestic workers or “kasambahays” by P600.

This brings the monthly wage rate for domestic workers in chartered cities and first-class municipalities in the region to P4,600 from P4,500; and P4,100 from P3,500 in other municipalities.

The last wage orders for workers in private establishments and domestic workers in the region were both issued on June 1, 2022 and became effective on June 25, 2022.

The regions that have approved wage increases so far are the National Capital Region, CALABARZON, Central Visayas, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, SOCCSKSARGEN, Ilocos Region, and Western Visayas.

The DOLE said the increases considered the various wage determination criteria provided under Republic Act No. 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act.

The Region IX’s wage board, comprised of representatives from the government, management and labor sectors, conducted a series of public hearings last September 19 in Zamboanga Sibugay, September 20 in Zamboanga del Sur, September 21 in Zamboanga del Norte, and September 25 in Zamboanga City and wage deliberation on October 16, 2023, it said.

The Labor Department said the new rates for workers in the private sector translate to a 9% to 13% increase from the prevailing daily minimum wage rates in the region and result in a comparable 23% increase in wage-related benefits covering 13th-month pay, service incentive leave (SIL), and social security benefits such as SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG.

The DOLE said wage orders are expected to directly benefit 56,848 minimum wage earners in Region IX. 

Moreover, it said that about 121,490 full-time wage and salary workers earning above the minimum wage may also indirectly benefit as a result of upward adjustments at the enterprise level arising from the correction of wage distortion.

On the other hand, the wage increases for domestic workers are expected to benefit a total of 18,984 domestic workers - approximately 13% (2,491) of whom are on live-in arrangements, and 87% (16,493) are live-out.

The DOLE said retail establishments regularly employing not more than 10 workers, and enterprises affected by natural calamities and/or human-induced disasters may apply to the RTWPB for exemption from the wage increase.

Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) are not covered by the minimum wage law pursuant to Republic Act No. 9178, according to the agency. —VAL, GMA Integrated News