MANILA, Philippines – More workers in Metro Manila are likely to enjoy their salary increase as few commercial establishments sought exemption from the mandated wage increase, a Department of Labor and Employment official said yesterday.
Alan Macaraya, DOLE- National Capital Region director, said only a limited number of companies in the region have filed an application for exemption from paying additional cost of living allowance (COLA) to their workers.
“So far we have only received and currently deliberating on 15 wage exemptions although companies have 75 days to file the petition,” Macaraya said in an interview.
Macaraya noted that there are about 200,000 commercial establishments in the region. Of the number, 99 percent are small and micro-establishments.
Under the law, the wage board can grant full or partial exemption to those incapable of paying the new wage hike. A one-year exemption can be granted to distressed establishments, those employing less than 10 workers and proven incapable of paying their workers the mandated pay hike.
The wage board ordered the COLA increase to be given in two phases: the first, amounting to P20, given starting June 3 and the remaining P10 will be given starting Nov. 1.
Macaraya said theoretically the two-tiered wage system the wage board adopted in May disallows exemption from the wage hike. However, Macaraya said the previous guidelines are still enforceable and companies may still avail themselves of the exemption.
He said the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) still has to come out with a new set of guidelines, after which the wage board will issue an advisory on the adoption of the second tier of the wage system.
The second tier allows companies to grant a performance-based pay hike on top of the mandatory salary increases and to those receiving more than the minimum wage rate.
DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz initiated the adoption of a two-tiered wage system in a bid to expand the coverage and improve compliance with the minimum wage. –Mayen Jaymalin, The Philippine Star
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