Minimum-wage earners in Central Luzon to get P13 pay hike

The regional wage board has approved a P13 increase in the daily salary of minimum-wage earners in the private sector in Region III (Central Luzon), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced Monday.

All minimum-wage workers in the region will be covered by the adjustment regardless of position, status of employment and method by which wages are paid, said Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz in a statement.

Based on the order by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB), the salary adjustment will take effect 15 days after the publication of the order in a newspaper of general circulation in Region III.

According to National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) executive director Ma. Criselda Sy, the new wage order will increase the minimum daily salary range in Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales from P342 to P349 for workers in the non-agriculture sector; P303 to P319 for workers in agriculture sector; and P324 to P338 for workers in retail/services sector.

Minimum daily wage in the province of Aurora, meanwhile, will be P298 for non-agriculture workers; P271 to P283 for agriculture workers; and P228 for workers in retail/services sector.

Sy, however, noted that financially distressed establishments employing not more than 10 workers as well as establishmentments affected by natural and human-induced calamities may apply for exemption from the payment of the new minimum wage rates.

Sy also noted that household workers and persons employed in the personal service of another such as family drivers and workers of Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) are not covered by the new wage order.

According to RTWPB Region III, it considered the region’s poverty threshold, average wage, and impact of changes in the consumer price index (CPI) or the inflation rate on workers’ purchasing power, among other factors, in arriving at a decision to adjust the regional minimum wages.

The RTWPB is composed of representatives from the labor and employer sectors, as well as from the regional offices of the DOLE, Department of Trade and Industry and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

The new wage adjustment stemmed from a petition filed by the Indo-Phil Textile Workers’ Union-Philippine Trade and General Workers’ Organization on May 20, 2014, citing as basis the increases in prices of basic goods and services.

Meanwhile, Sy said six other regions in the country have wage orders which are already past their one-year anniversary dates.

These are Region 4-B (wage order reached one-year anniversary on February 1), CARAGA (May 21), Region 9 (June 10), National Capital Region (October 4), Region 8 (October 16) and Region 10 (October 16).

The wage order of Region 6 is set to reach its anniversary date on November 29.

Sy said the RTWPBs in these regions are already conducting wage studies and consultations with labor and employers sectors.

Earlier this year, the RTWPBs in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Regions 1, 2, 4-A, 7, 11, and 12, have already issued orders increasing minimum wages in their respective regions. —Elizabeth Marcelo/KBK, GMA News