Higher minimum wage OK’d for Zamboanga

THREE REMAINING regions with pending petitions have yet to benefit from higher minimum pay after the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9) has approved a P15 adjustment, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said on Friday.

The wage order, signed on August 16, will integrate a P15 cost of living allowance (COLA) into the basic pay, the DoLE statement said.

Upon effectivity of the order, non-agricultural workers will receive P255 per day, agricultural workers including employees of rubber-based plantations P230, and workers in plantations and agricultural enterprises P230, while those in non-agricultural enterprises will receive P210.

Meanwhile, retail and service establishments with not more than 30 workers should pay a daily minimum wage of P235, while workers in cottage and handicraft industries will receive P210.

Earlier this month, the RTWPB in Region 7 (Central Visayas) granted an P18 increase.

Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III, executive director of the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) could state the effectivity of the adjusted minimum pay for Zamboanga and Central Visayas as these will still have to be confirmed by the commission.

“These wage orders have been announced by the respective chairmen, but it will be official once we [NWPC] have approved it. We will take it up on Monday,” he told BusinessWorld by phone.

Metro Manila was the first region to order a minimum wage hike of P22 for all sectors effective July 1.

Others were Western Visayas (Region 6), P15; Davao (11), P21; Northern Mindanao (10), P25 consisting of P13 in base pay and P12 in cost of living allowance (COLA); Caraga (13), P20 split into P10 basic pay and P10 COLA; and Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, P12.

RTWPBs that have yet to act on petitions are Central Luzon (Region 3), Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon (Calabarzon or 4-A), and Occidental and Oriental Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan (Mimaropa or 4-B).

Wage hike petitions were filed in 11 regions out of 17 regions nationwide. — Nathan R. Melican, Businessworld