DoLE OKs P24 daily minimum wage hike in Central Luzon

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Here’s good news for workers in Central Luzon.

The Central Luzon Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB3) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) here announced on Wednesday that the wage board has approved an increase of P24 in the daily minimum wage of workers in the region, bringing the minimum wage of workers to at least P308.50 for non-agricultural employees, and P270 for agricultural workers.

The wage increase will cover all workers in the cities of Angeles, Balanga, Cabanatuan, Gapan, Malolos, Muñoz, Olongapo, Palayan, San Fernando, San Jose, San Jose Del Monte, and Tarlac and the Provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales.

The province of Aurora, meanwhile, will have a slightly lower minimum rate than the rest of the province.

The new wage rate, which was promulgated through Wage Order 15, series of 2010, will become effective after 15 days of publication of its Implementing Rules and Regulations in a newspaper of general circulation.

Upon the effectivity of the said wage order, DoLE explained that a P10 cost of living allowance (COLA) under Wage Order No. 14 issued in 2008 shall be integrated into the basic pay, while a new COLA of P14 per day shall be granted to all minimum wage earners in the region.

According to the said wage order, the minimum wage earners in the agricultural sectors in plantations will receive P286 daily wage, while those who are working in agricultural non-plantation industry will be entitled to P270 wage.

The minimum wage earners in non-agricultural firms with assets of more than P30 million are entitled to P316 per day salary, while those in firms with less than P30 million assets are entitled to P308.50.

Meanwhile, workers in private hospitals with a capacity of 20 beds will get P307, while those in smaller hospitals will have P292 as minimum wage.

Employees of retail and service sectors with 16 or more workers will get P305 daily wage, while those working for firms with less than 16 personnel are entitled to P291.

The last time that the wage board approved a salary increase in Central Luzon was on July 26, 2008.

In a related development, the Labor Department reported that the three most-talk-about labor disputes in Region 3 have already been settled.

These are the labor disputes at the Holy Angel University (HAU) in Pampanga; Universal Weavers Corporation at the Freeport Area in Bataan; and the Republic Cement Corporation in Bulacan.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said that the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) had a great participation in the said issues. –MARK ANTHONY N. MANUEL, Manila Bulletin