BAGUIO CITY -- The newly approved minimum wage order increasing daily wage in the Cordillera region by P30 will take effect on December 5, 2023, and minimum wage earners are thankful.
John Robert, a worker in the biking section at Burnham Park, said the wage increase is most welcome especially with the rising cost of goods and services.
"Pandagdag sa gastusin, siyempre, mataas na ang mga bilihin ngayon, pabor din sa amin na mga trabahador," Robert said.
For Carlo Lasap, he is optimistic that the wage increase will alleviate some of their financial burdens and enable them to better support their families.
"Malaking tulong talaga kasi tumataas ang mga bilihin, pamasahe lang, tumataas na," Lasap said.
Effective December 5, 2023, the new daily minimum wage rate in Cordillera will be P430 and shall apply to all minimum wage earners in the private sector, regardless of their position, designation, or status and irrespective of the method by which their wages are paid.
The Cordillera Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB) decided to motu proprio issue Wage Order No. CAR-22 granting P30 increase in the daily minimum wage for minimum wage earners.
Likewise, the RTWPB issued Wage Order No. RB-CAR-DW-05 increasing the monthly minimum wage of domestic workers or kasambahays by P400. Domestic workers in the region will now receive a monthly rate of P4,900.
Department of Labor and Employment-Cordillera Regional Director Nathaniel Lacambra explained that the hike is a strategic response to socio-economic indicators.
Lacambra shared that the RTWPB went around the region to gather the sentiments of various sectors, the affected labor management, and other stakeholders.
After the round of consultation, the Board sat down to deliberate of the results.
“The Board considered the socio-economic indicators such as inflation, the decline in purchasing power of the peso, regional gross domestic products, labor productivity, and the capacity of the employer to pay, the needs of workers, and the consumer price index. Meron din tayong tinatawag na the need of the family of five in order to survive. So, these are the economic parameters we considered for the P30 wage increase,” he elaborated.
The RTWPB then finalized Wage Order No. CAR-22 and RB-CAR-DW-05, and submitted to the National Wages and Productivity Commission for affirmation.
“Basically, it’s just the recovery because when you increase wages para sabihin nating sapat at masaya ang manggagawa, I think it would rather be inflationary, tumaas ang sweldo, necessarily our manufacturers will pass the increase of price in their products as well and sino bibili ng product na yon, yung manggagawa din so these are moderate increases which would not become inflationary but rather recovering of the value of the peso that has been eroded because of inflation,” Lacambra added. (PIA)