MINIMUM WAGE earners in Central Luzon — the top rice-producing region and third-biggest contributor to national output after Metro Manila and Calabarzon at around 9% — will get a P13 hike in daily basic pay under an Oct. 4 order published Saturday.
Saying it held sectoral consultations by province from Apr. 24 to July 15 “as it has been almost two years since the last wage order was issued… in the region,” the Labor department’s Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board No. 3 issued Wage Order No. RBIII-18 that takes effect Nov. 30. The Indo-Phil Textile Workers Union-Philippine Trade and Workers Association filed last May 20 for a P130 increase in daily pay.
New basic pay in Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales will be: for non-agriculture workers in establishments with total assets worth at least P30 million, P349; non-agriculture workers of establishments with total assets worth less than P30 million, P342; for agricultural workers in plantations, P319; agricultural non-plantation workers, P303; for those in retail and other service establishments with at least 16 workers, P338; and for those in retail and other service establishments with less than 16 workers, P324.
The order gave separate rates for Aurora: P298 for non-agriculture workers, P283 for plantation workers, P271 for agricultural non-plantation workers, and P228 for retail/service workers.
The order said Central Luzon’s wage board reviewed “prevailing socioeconomic and other conditions in the region.” Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Autority show the average increase in prices of widely used goods in the region picked up to 3.81% as of October from 2.47% in 2013’s comparable 10 months.
But Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines President Edgardo G. Lacson said by phone: “This is not a good time for wage increases. We are still trying to recover from joblessness. A higher minimum wage is a disincentive for new investors.” –Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Businessworld
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