MINIMUM WAGE petitions in two regions are in an advanced stage, with workers in one area likely to receive a raise before Labor Day, officials said on Wednesday.
The regional wage board in CALABARZON has submitted to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) its recommendation on the proposed increase in minimum pay, and will be up for review next week.
“[The] Commission will review [the] Wage Order and Advisory and Guidelines of RB (Regional Board) 4A on Tuesday next week,” NWPC Director Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III said in a text message on Wednesday.
CALABARZON groups Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.
The wage order for the region was issued on March 28 and submitted to the NWPC for approval, said Rovelinda A. dela Rosa, secretary of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB)-Region 4A.
The official did not disclose the recommended amount of adjustment.
Asked on details of the wage board proposal, Mr. Lagunzad said in an earlier text message: “Regional board 4A set a floor wage of P255, granting additional P2 to P90, the latter to be issued in tranches for 5 years.”
“They also issued an advisory encouraging the grant of conditional productivity allowance of P12.50 for workers receiving above the floor wage of P255,” he added.
National labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines filed a wage hike petition on March 27.
The last wage order in the region was issued on Jan. 15 last year, raising the daily minimum pay by P17 to P253-337 in the non-agriculture sector and to P233-312 for the agriculture sector.
Central Mindanao (breaker)
Meanwhile, minimum wage earners in Central Mindanao (Region 12) may receive a pay increase before May 1.
In a statement, Chona M. Mantilla, Department of Labor and Employment regional director, said the regional wages board, which she also chairs, recently endorsed a P4-rise in the daily floor wage to P14 from P10.
She noted that the latest salary increase, or Wage Order No. RBXII-17, may take effect before May 1.
Under the new wage order, which will be implemented in two tranches, the minimum wage will range from P246 to P270. Current rates are from P235 to P260.
The first tranche is expected to take effect before May 1 and the next on Dec. 1.
In coming up with the wage adjustment, the wage board decided to integrate the present P15 daily cost of living allowance (COLA) to the new basic wage. The existing daily floor pay ranges from P235 to P260.
“The last wage order was issued more than one year ago and there being no petition, the (wage board) has resolved to review, motu propio (on its own), the existing minimum wage rates in the region,” Ms. Mantilla said.
According to the NWPC Web site, the last wage order was issued on Oct. 31, 2010. The wage board granted a P15 COLA (P10 upon effectivity and P5 on Apr. 1, 2011) and integrated the P21 COLA from previous wage orders into the basic pay.
Wage hike petitions are also pending in Metro Manila and Central Visayas. — Aubrey E. Barrameda and Romer S. Sarmiento in Koronadal City
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