Central Luzon workers get P14 hike

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The regional wage board in Central Luzon recently issued a wage order providing for an additional P14 cost of living allowance (Cola) for minimum wage earners in the private sector in the region.

The new wage order issued June 1 will increase the daily compensation of non-agricultural workers in the region from P316 to P330, and will take effect 15 days after its publication in a daily newspaper.

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The latest wage increase also provides for the integration of the P4 Cola of previous wage order No. 15 into the basic pay, which will take effect on January 1 of the following year.

According to Department of Labor and Employment Information Officer Jerry Borja, the wage board, after a thorough study on the region’s socio-economic situation, deemed it necessary to provide workers with immediate relief from the rising costs of living, taking into consideration the interests of both labor and management as well as the continued and sustained viability of business and industry in the region.

The latest wage adjustment stemmed from the petition for a daily P90 across the board wage increase filed by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines on May 5, where the group cited extraordinary increases in prices of selected prime commodities, petroleum products and transport fares.

Borja said the issuance of the new wage order within the 12-month prohibition period was justified due to the existence of a supervening condition in the region as cited under Section 3, Rule IV of the Amended Rules of Procedure on Minimum Wage Fixing.

The wage board conducted a public hearing on May 31 to listen to the positions of management, labor and other concerned stakeholders on the wage increase issue. –Sun Star, Jovi T. De Leon