Daily Tribune (Philippines)

More regional wage hikes seen

The RTWPB I unanimousl­y issued Wage Order RB1-21, which provides wage hikes in two to three tranches ranging from P60 to P90

- BY GAB HUMILDE VILLEGAS @tribunephl_gab

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) on Wednesday disclosed that minimum wage earners in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and Caraga region will soon get salary increases after their respective Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivi­ty Boards (RTWPB) issued orders increasing their respective minimum wages.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III expressed his gratitude to the three region’s wage boards for responding to his call to expedite the evaluation of their current minimum wage and for going above and beyond in resolving wage adjustment petitions in their jurisdicti­ons.

To recall, the Labor chief said that the minimum wage hike in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Western Visayas will take effect on 3 June.

On 16 May, the RTWPB I unanimousl­y issued Wage Order RB1-21 which provides wage hikes in two to three tranches ranging from P60 to P90. The minimum wage rate in the region will range from P372 to P400 after full implementa­tion of the tranches, from P282 to P340 under the previous Wage Order.

The board also unanimousl­y issued Wage Order RB1-DW-03 granting P500 and P1,500 monthly wage increases for domestic workers in cities and first-class municipali­ties and for other municipali­ties, respective­ly, bringing the new monthly wage rate to P5,000.

Meanwhile, Wage Order No. 1 was unanimousl­y issued by RTWPB II. On 17 May, RTWPB-02-21 was issued, providing pay increases in two to three tranches ranging from P50 to P75.

The minimum pay rate in the region will range from P400 to P420 after the tranches are fully implemente­d, up from P345 to P370 in the previous Wage Order.

The RTWPB XIII, on the other hand, issued Wage Order 1 and on the same day, RXIII-17 was signed which incorporat­ed the P15 COLA into the P305 basic salary under the previous Wage Order and granting a P30 wage hike, bringing the new daily minimum wage rate in the region to P350.

The new daily minimum wage rate of P350 for private establishm­ents and their workers in Butuan City and the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur will take effect once the Wage Order takes effect.

Private establishm­ents and their workers in the provinces of Dinagat Islands and Surigao del Norte — including Siargao Islands — will receive a P20 wage increase when the Wage Order becomes effective, and another P10 on 1 September.

The revised Wage Orders will be reviewed by the NWPC and will be enforced 15 days after being published in a newspaper of regional circulatio­n.

Retail or service establishm­ents regularly employing no more than 10 workers and establishm­ents affected by natural calamities and/or human-induced disasters — including the pandemic — may apply for exemption from compliance with the issued Wage Orders under the Omnibus Rules on Minimum Wage Determinat­ion.

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