THE Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) of Zamboanga Peninsula and Central Visayas approved increase in minimum wage of private sector workers in the areas.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said workers in Central Visayas will receive P18 daily wage increase while those in the Zamboanga Peninsula will get a P15 increase and another P15 to be integrated in the cost of living allowance (Cola) under the previous wage order.
The approval of the latest wage hike is in response to the urgent need of workers for salary increase to help them cope with soaring prices of commodities.
Based on Wage Order No. 15 approved by the Central Visayas Wage Board, the non-agriculture sector in Class A cities and municipalities in Central Visayas will receive P285. Agriculture and sugar plantation workers in the region will have P267 and P235 minimum daily wage, respectively.
Upon effectivity of the new wage order, non-agriculture workers in Class B cities and municipalities will get P265.00 daily pay, while agriculture and sugar plantation workers will have P250.00 and P235.00, respectively.
Non-agriculture workers in the Class C areas will get P255 daily pay, while workers in agriculture and sugar plantations will both have P235.
Workers in Class D areas will be granted a P240 increase in their daily basic pay, while agriculture and sugar plantation workers will have P220 and P235 daily wage, respectively.
All workers in sugar mills, regardless of the area they are working, will receive a daily pay of P255.
Class A cities in Central Visayas included Carcar, Cebu, Danao, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Naga, and Talisay, while the municipalities are Compostela, Consolacion, Cordova, Liloan, Minglanilla, and San Fernando (or expanded Metro Cebu).
The cities of Toledo and Bogo, and the rest of the municipalities in the province of Cebu, except the municipalities in the Islands of Bantayan and Camotes, are classified as Class B areas under the wage order.
Class C areas are the cities and municipalities in the provinces of Bohol and Negros Oriental, while Class D are the municipalities in the Province of Siquijor and municipalities in the Islands of Bantayan and Camotes.
In the Zamboanga Peninsula, the minimum daily basic pay of non-agricultural workers will be P255 upon effectivity of Wage Order No. 16.
Agricultural workers, including those in rubber-based plantations, will get P230 daily pay.
Workers in plantations, agricultural enterprises, and non-agricultural enterprises will get P230 and P210 daily pay, respectively.
Retail and service establishments not employing more than 30 workers will have P235 daily pay, while those in the cottage and handicraft industries will have P210 daily wage. (FP/Sunnex)