Minimum wage earners in Davao get pay hike
MORE than 132,000 minimum earners and 64,000 household workers or “kasambahay” in the Davao Region stand to benefit from the new round of minimum wage increase approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB).
The RTWPB-Davao has approved a total of P38 for minimum wage earners in the private sector to be given in two tranches, while the kasambahay would receive an increase ranging from P500 to P1,500, depending on the area.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said on Monday that the Davao Region was the last to issue a wage increase order among the 17 regions in the county due to the calamities that hit the region recently, among other factors.
Wage Order RB XI-22, issued on Feb. 13, 2024, granted a P19 daily increase for minimum wage earners upon effectivity, and an additional P19 as second tranche on Sept. 1, 2024.
The Regional Board also motu proprio issued Wage Order RB XI-DW-03, increasing the monthly minimum wage of kasambahay between P500 to P1,500 depending on the area. The monthly wage rate for chartered cities and firstclass municipalities in the region shall now be P6,000, and P5,000 for other municipalities.
A total of 132,347 minimum wage earners in the Davao Region are expected to directly benefit from salary increase.
It brings the daily minimum wages in the region to P481 for the non-agriculture sector and P476 for the agriculture sector upon full implementation.
About 316,558 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 increase for kasambahay is expected to benefit a total of 64,111 domestic workers, approximately 37 percent (23,479) of whom are on live-in arrangements.
Following existing laws and procedures, the wage orders were submitted to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) for review and were affirmed on Feb. 16, 2024.
The wage orders will be published on Feb. 19, 2024, and shall take effect 15 days after publication, or on March 6, 2024.
The increases considered the various wage determination criteria provided under Republic Act 6727, or the “Wage Rationalization Act.”
The board, composed of representatives from the government, management, and labor sectors, conducted the public hearing last Feb. 7, 2024, in Davao City and a wage deliberation on Feb. 13, 2024.
The new rates for workers in the private sector translate to a 9 percent increase from the prevailing daily minimum wage rates in the region and result in a comparable 23 percent increase in wage-related benefits covering 13th-month pay, service incentive leave (SIL), and other benefits such as SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG Fund.
As in any wage order, and as provided for in the NWPC Omnibus Rules on Minimum Wage Determination, retail/ service 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 under Republic Act 9178 [2002].