Higher minimum wage in Ilocos Region approved - DOLE

Minimum wage earners in Region I (Ilocos Region) will receive higher wages starting next month after the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) approved a P33 increase in the daily pay in the region.

According to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) affirmed Wage Order No. RB 1-23 on October 16, hiking the daily minimum wages to P435 for the agriculture sector and non-agriculture sector employing less than 10 employees and P468 for the non-agriculture sector employing 10 or more employees.

The decision will take effect on November 7, 2024 or a day after the anniversary of the RTWPB. The board issued its last wage orders for workers in private establishments and domestic workers in the region on November 6, 2023. 

“The new rates for workers in the private sector translate to an 8% increase from the prevailing daily minimum wage rates in the region and result in a comparable 12% 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. 

The RTWPB likewise approved a P500 increase in the monthly minimum wage of domestic workers (kasambahay), raising their monthly salaries to P6,000. 

The DOLE said wage order is expected to directly benefit 170,143 minimum wage earners and indirectly benefit about 349,112 full-time wage and salary workers. It is also seen to benefit a total of 99,024 domestic workers in the region. 

In May, DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said some regional wage boards would begin the review of wage orders following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s directive to assess the minimum wage rates in every region.

The RTWPB approved a P35 hike in the daily minimum wage of NCR in July, increasing it from P610 to P645 for the non-agriculture sector.

Laguesma previously said the DOLE expected all RTWPBs across the country to finish their review before the end of the year.—LDF, GMA Integrated News