Calabarzon wage board OKs pay hike for private sector workers

The DOLE said the wage order is expected to benefit 719,704 minimum wage earners in the region. (File Photo By Judgefloro – Own work, CC0)

MANILA – The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Calabarzon has granted an increase in the salaries of private sector workers ranging from PHP35 to PHP50, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced on Thursday.

The board’s Wage Order No. IVA-20 dated Sept. 1 brought the daily minimum wages in the following areas in the region — from PHP470 to PHP520 for the non-agriculture sector; from PHP429 to PHP479 for the agriculture sector; and from PHP350 to PHP385 for retail and service establishments employing not more than 10 workers.

The DOLE said the wage order is expected to benefit 719,704 minimum wage earners in the region.

It noted that about 1.6 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 the correction of wage distortion.

The National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) affirmed the wage order on Sept. 5. It will be published on Friday and shall take effect on Sept. 24 or 15 days from its publication.

Meanwhile, the DOLE said workers in the agriculture sector in the cities of Calaca in Batangas and Carmona in Cavite shall, however, receive an increase of PHP89 due to their reclassification from first class municipalities to component cities by virtue of Republic Act 11544 and 11938, respectively.

The increase, which considered the various wage determination criteria provided under Republic Act No. 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act, resulted from several petitions filed by various labor groups seeking an increase in the daily minimum wage due to escalating prices of basic goods and commodities.

The Board, composed of representatives from the government, management and labor sectors, held a series of public hearings last Aug. 7 in Batangas, Aug. 9 in Cavite and Aug. 11 in Laguna, and wage deliberations on Aug. 16, 18, 23 and Sept. 1, 2023.

The new rates translate to a 9 to 11 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, and social security benefits such as SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG.

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 pursuant to Republic Act No. 9178 [2002].

For exemption applications and further clarifications on the wage order, the RTWPB may also be reached through its email address rb4a@produktiboatsahod.onmicrosoft.com.

The last wage order for workers in private establishments in the region was issued on May 30, 2022 and took effect on June 30, 2022.

Proposed wage adjustment in Bicol

RTWPB – Region V is set to hold a public hearing in Legazpi City early next month for the proposed salary adjustment in the region.

In a social media post Thursday, the Bicol wage board announced that it is holding a public hearing at the Concourse Convention Center in Legazpi City, Albay, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 2.

The public hearing is being conducted to allow all stakeholders to participate that will be affected by the wage adjustments.

Before the public hearing, the RTWPB – Region V said it will also hold several wage consultations in different parts of Bicol.

These are in Villa Isabel Hotel, Sorsogon City (Sept. 11), Freshco Beach Resort, Masbate City (Sept. 22), Lotus Blu Hotel, Naga City, Camarines Sur (Sept. 26), and Wiltan Hotel, Daet, Camarines Norte (Sept. 27). All the wage consultations shall also be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The last wage order issued by the Bicol wage board, which provided a PHP33 salary increase, took effect in June 2022.

Wage Order No. V-20 brought the daily minimum wage rate in the Bicol Region to PHP365.