Two-tiered wage system in the offing

Published by rudy Date posted on May 17, 2012

The Philippines is now in a transition to a two-tiered wage system with the effectivity of the wage order of the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board-Region IV-A (Southern Tagalog), according to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

“The Philippines is definitely in a transition to a two-tiered wage system, which offers better protection to minimum wage earners,” the labor chief said.

Baldoz said a productivity-based wage system is central to the wage rationalization law, adding that even Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) will benefit from the two-tiered system.

The two-tiered wage system consists of a fixed floor wage or entry-level wage for new entrants and low-skilled workers, and a flexible wage above the floor based on workers’ productivity and industry or enterprise performance, which may be negotiated between the employer and the workers.

The wage reforms seek to upgrade the existing minimum wage- setting in the country, Baldoz said. The reforms are meant to minimize the unintended outcomes of mandated minimum wages, improve the coverage of the vulnerable sectors, and promote productivity improvement and gain-sharing, she said.

The National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council endorsed and supported the reforms.

The Wage Order 15 in Southern Tagalog set the regional floor wage at P255, with a conditional temporary productivity allowance (CTPA) of P12.50 for workers already receiving more than P255.

Under the new wage order, the adjustments in current minimum wage level shall be as follows:

(a) In non-agriculture sector, the lowest minimum wage level of P253 in 2011 will increase to P255 in 2012;

(b) In agriculture sector, from P213 to P250 to a range of P231 to P255; and,

(c) In retail and service establishments with 10 workers or less, from P165 to P232 to a range of P183 to P208. –Vito Barcelo, Manila Standard Today

April 2025

World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”

Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos

Time to support & empower survivors. Time to spark a global conversation. Time for #GenerationEquality to #orangetheworld!

Monthly Observances:

March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth

Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week

Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work

Trade Union Solidarity Campaigns

No to Trafficking

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

Categories