Wage board approves pay hike in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and SOCCSKSARGEN

Private sector workers in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and SOCCSKSARGEN should expect higher pay in the coming month after the regions’ respective wage boards approved an increase in daily minimum wages, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

This, after the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) affirmed on September 26, 2023 the wage orders submitted by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) in the said regions.

The DOLE said a total of 682,117 minimum wage earners in Regions II, III, and XII are expected to benefit from the approved wage increases.

Moreover, the Labor Department said about 1.5 million 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 wage distortion corrections.

The wage orders issued by the three RTWPBs will be published on September 30, 2023 and will take effect after 15 days or on October 16, 2023.

In parallel efforts, the RTWPBs in Cagayan Valley and SOCCSKSARGEN, likewise, issued wage orders for domestic workers.

The wage increases are expected to benefit a total of 75,853 domestic workers, 25% or 19,040 of whom are in live-in arrangements and 75% or 56,813 are live-out.

Cagayan Valley

For Cagayan Valley, the region’s wage board issued motu propio Wage Order No. RTWPB 2-22 on September 21, 2023.

The wage order provides a P30 increase in the minimum wage in the region to be divided into two equal tranches —the first tranche will be given upon effectivity while the second tranche will be implemented on April 1, 2024.

After full implementation of the tranches, the minimum wage rates in Cagayan Valley will be P450 for non-agriculture workers and P430 for agriculture workers.

Region II’s wage board also issued Wage Order No. 02-DW-05 granting a monthly increase of P500 for the wage of kasambahays or domestic workers, bringing their monthly pay rate to P5,500.

Central Luzon

For Central Luzon or Region III, the RTWPB issued Wage Order No. RBIII-24 on September 19, 2023, granting a wage hike petition.

The order grants a P40 increase for workers in non-agriculture, agriculture, and retail/service establishments.

Upon effectivity, the new wage rate in the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales will be P493 to P500 for workers in non-agriculture establishments, P454 to P470 for workers in the agriculture sector, and P475 to P489 for retail and service workers.

Meanwhile, the new rates in the Aurora province shall be P449 for non-agriculture, P422 to P434 for agriculture, and P384 for retail and service workers.

SOCCSKSARGEN

Similar to Cagayan Valley, the regional wage board in SOCCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos) issued motu propio Wage Order No. Order No. RB XII-23 on September 21, 2023.

The wage order grants a P35 minimum wage increase for workers in non-agriculture, agriculture, and service or retail establishments to be given in two tranches —P22 upon effectivity and P13 on January 1, 2024.

The RTWPB XII also issued Wage Order No. RB XII-DW-04, granting a monthly wage increase of P500 and bringing the monthly wage rate of kasambahays in the region to P5,000 in the cities and first-class municipalities, and P4,500 to other municipalities in the region.

The DOLE said the wage increases, “which considered the various wage determination criteria provided under Republic Act No. 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act,” either resulted from the motu proprio act of the regional wage board or petitions filed by labor groups seeking an increase in the daily minimum wage due to escalating prices of basic goods and commodities.

“Each Board, comprised of representatives from the government, management, and labor sectors, conducted public hearings and wage deliberations,” the Labor Department said.

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

“Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) are not covered by the minimum wage law pursuant to Republic Act No. 9178 [2002],” it said. —VAL, GMA Integrated News