FIFTEEN regional wage boards issued orders granting wage increases in 2018, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
In a statement, the DOLE said the adjustments in the minimum wage rates of private sector workers ranged from P10 to P56 a day.
The wage orders were issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in the National Capital Region (NCR), Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The agency noted that the minimum wage in the non-agricultural sector stands at P537 in NCR and ranges from P256 to P400 in areas outside Metro Manila.
In the agriculture sector, the minimum wage is P500 in NCR and ranges from P256 to P370 outside Metro Manila.
Private sector workers in the Ilocos Region received a wage increase effective January 25, but the wage order was issued o November 24, 2017.
Caraga, or Region 13, could not issue a wage order within a year from the issuance of the latest wage order, which was released on December 8, 2017. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)