THOUGH they welcome the increase in daily minimum wage for private sector workers in Western Visayas, local business process outsourcing (BPO) companies are not affected by the salary adjustment.
John Dave Dueñas, president of the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for Information and Communications Technology (Bnefit), said the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) has long been practicing to pay beyond the standard minimum wage.
Dueñas, also the chief executive officer of Hybrain Software Development Corporation, said the compensation bracket that they deploy within the industry is not just to meet local legislation.
“We make sure that we adhere to international practices,” he said, adding that “we do not just look at compensation but we also look at work-life balance.”
On June 11, members of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Western Visayas signed Wage Order No. 24 setting new wage rates in the region, including the cost of living allowance (COLA) of P295 and P365 per day.
The increases range from P13.50 to P41.50 depending on workers' classification.
Workers in the non-agriculture, industrial and commercial establishments employing more than 10 employees will receive a minimum wage of P365 per day.
From the previous P323.50, the RTWPB-Western Visayas has come up with an increase of P26.50 on basic wage plus a Cola of P15 or a total of P41.50.
Those employing 10 workers and below, the new wage rate is P295 from only P271.50.
It is derived from an increase of P18.50 plus a COLA worth P5, or a total of P23.50.
For agriculture sector, plantation workers will receive P8.50 increase and COLA of P5 thus, the new wage rate is P295. This is P13.50 higher than the previous P281.50.
Those in non-plantations, the new wage rate is also P295 from the previous P271.50 due to an increase of P18.50 and P5 worth of COLA, or a total of P23.50.
The effectivity of the new order is expected in August, the soonest is on the 15th.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Western Visayas earlier reported that there are about 70,000 private establishments in Western Visayas.
Of the figure, most are those under the service sector, at about 60,000. It is followed by the industry sector with about 10,000 while agriculture has the lowest number of establishments, at about 800.
BPOs employ one of the largest numbers of workers under the service sector.
In Negros Occidental, the Bnefit official said there are currently 28 firms employing about 30,000 workers both of voice and non-voice jobs.
Dueñas said aside from wage, they look at healthcare programs and other steps to enrich the workforce.
“We make sure that our compensation packages are beyond minimum wage even in our entry levels,” he added.