WAGE EQUALITY A MYTH?

The government needs to consider each region’s economic situation before standardizing minimum wage Poorer regions may not be able to implement a standard minimum wage immediately

An official of the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) 7 believes that the plan to establish a standard minimum wage in the country still needs further study.

Dole 7 Director Elias Cayanong said the national government must consider economic situations of different areas in the country.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said that he wants Congress to create a “national minimum wage law” and scrap Republic Act 6727, or the Wage Rationalization Act.

Based on RA 6727, each region in the country has a unique minimum wage set by Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB) based on the poverty threshold, employment rate, and cost of living specific to each region.

Cayanong, though, believes that a national minimum wage law will remove notions that some workers in the provinces receive unequal pay compared to their counterparts in Metro Manila.

In Metro Manila, minimum wage earners received P491 daily, composed of P481 basic wage and P10 cost of living allowance (Cola).

In Central Visayas, the minimum wage is P366 for workers in the cities of Cebu, Carcar, Danao, Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue and in the towns of Liloan, Minglanilla and San Fernando.

Minimum wage earners in the cities of Toledo, Bogo and the rest of the towns in Cebu Province, except for Bantayan and Camotes Islands, receive P333 per day.

Minimum wage earners in the cities and towns of Bohol and Negros Oriental receive P323 per day, while workers in the towns of Siquijor and Bantayan and Camotes Islands in Cebu receive P308.

Meanwhile, Cayanong said that even if a national minimum wage law is passed, some areas in the country may not be able to catch up.

Cayanong said that RA 6727 was created to address salaries of minimum wage earners with regards to the regions’ different situations.

But if a national minimum wage law is passed, regions with less economic development may not be able to implement the standard minimum wage immediately compared to much richer counterparts, Cayanong said.