THE Regional Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Western Visayas has not received an appeal opposing the P15 to P30 daily minimum wage increase that started to take effect Wednesday, November 27.
Wennie Sancho, labor representative to the RTWPB-Region, said they have not discussed any opposition from the management during the Board's regular meeting in Bacolod City yesterday.
Sancho, also the secretary general of the General Alliance of Workers Associations (Gawa), said the deadline for the submission of opposition has actually lapsed last November 21.
"Whether, or not, there's an appeal, it could not restrain the implementation of the Wage Order," he said, reiterating that its reckoning date of the implementation is still November 27, which is 15 days after the publication on November 11.
Approved and published last October 22, Wage Order No. 25 provided a P30 daily pay hike for workers among non-agriculture, industrial and commercial establishments employing more than 10 employees.
From the current P350 plus cost of living allowance (Cola) of P15, totaling to P365 per day, the new rate is P395.
Employees from establishments with less than 10 workers are getting an additional of P15, making the new wage rate at P310 per day.
For the agricultural sector, plantation workers receive a P20 increase. So from the current P295 per day, the new minimum wage rate under this sector is P315.
During the meeting, the Wage Board has not reviewed the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Wage Order.
Sancho said they have yet to wait for the copies of it, along with the new Wage Order, which are to be signed by Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
This is the "minor" problem now, Sancho said, explaining that some employers are asking for the copies of the Wage Order so they can start implementing the wage hike.
"Whether or not there is a copy of the order and IRR, we urge the management to implement the wage hike in the spirit of Christmas," he said.
The additional salary can help stabilize the purchasing power of the workers, the labor leader added.