CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Central Luzon workers will enjoy a new minimum wage on Labor Day, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) said on Friday, April 21.
The wage order via Wage Order RBIII-20 will take effect on May 1, 15 days after it was published by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Central Luzon at a local leading newspaper.
Dole Regional Director Ana Dione, who chairs the RTWPB-Central Luzon or commonly known as the Regional Wage Board, said that workers will be receiving an additional P16 per day.
“We are happy to inform our workers all over the region of the new minimum wage effecting on May 1, coinciding with the 115th Philippine Labor Day Celebration. This means that the additional daily increase will enable our hard working work force provide more take home pay attend to the needs of their families,” Dione said.
With the salary hike, the prevailing minimum wage in the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales will increase from P364 to P380 per day.
The agricultural-based province of Aurora, on the other hand, will have a daily wage increase from P313 to P329.
Dione noted that the above-mentioned adjustments only pertain to non-agricultural establishments with total assets amounting to P30 million or more.
“The new minimum wage in the region will vary across industries. Non-Agricultural firms’ rate will vary based on those which have total assets of P30 million or more and those with less than 30 million. Meanwhile, minimum wages will also vary for plantation and non-plantation agri-based firms, likewise with retail or service firms with 16 or more workers and those with less than 16 workers,” Dione explained.
The new wage order, according to Dione, is a result of the Regional Wage Board’s consultations with labor and management representatives from different industries in most parts of the region.
“The Regional Wage Board deemed it best to increase the minimum wage at a reasonable and equitable level in light of the regional poverty threshold level vis-à-vis, average wage, along the need to promote performance-based incentive schemes under the Two-Tier Wage System,” she said.
The Wage Board, which spearheaded the consultations, comprised the Dole as chair while the National Economic Development Authority (Neda) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as vice chair.
The Dole, Neda, DTI, and other concerned agencies presented the socio-economic scenario of the region to attending stakeholders from various industries during the consultations
Dione noted that the new minimum wage shall apply to workers receiving the minimum wage in the region regardless of their position, employment status, and how their wages are paid.
Wage Order RBIII-20 takes precedence over Wage Order RBIII-19, which was effected in two tranches in January 1, 2016 and May 1, 20016. (PR)