WITH the wage increase being voluntarily implemented, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has outlined several incentives for recruitment agencies and employers that provide domestic workers with a monthly salary of US$500.
Based on Memorandum Circular 03-2025, compliant employers may be accredited or re-accredited under the “green lane,” wherein the accreditation processing at Migrant Workers Offices (MWOs) will be shortened from 10–14 days to 5–7 working days, provided all documents are complete.
Employers will also be granted access to a pool of skilled labor to facilitate skills matching and recruitment should they require other skilled workers.
One-on-one consultation sessions will likewise be made available to employers upon request for assistance on accreditation or employment concerns.
For compliant recruitment agencies, the DMW said they will be given a streamlined license renewal and branch establishment process, reducing approval time from 30 days to 10 days, subject to complete documentation.
Recruitment agencies will also be provided with automated acknowledgment of personnel changes through a dedicated portal for faster and more efficient processing of staff roster updates.
“To promote ethical recruitment and facilitate ease of doing business, employers and recruitment agencies with a minimum of 10 deployed domestic workers earning at least US$500 monthly may avail of the said incentives,” the DMW said.
The agency added that all employers of domestic workers are being given six months to voluntarily increase their salaries to US$500.
“Employers of both new hires and returning workers — those renewing contracts or currently in the Philippines and re-hired by their former employer — shall be given a six-month transition period to gradually adjust salaries for domestic workers earning less than US$500 per month,” the DMW said.
“During this transition period, wage increases may be applied voluntarily,” it added.
After the six-month period, the DMW said it will conduct a performance audit to assess overall compliance with the wage increase.
“Based on this assessment, the Department may either extend the transition period or mandate full compliance with the US$500 minimum wage,” the agency said.
To recall, the US$400 minimum wage for domestic workers was set under the 2006 Household Service Workers (HSW) Policy Reform Package of the then-Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
Last August, the DMW announced that the minimum monthly wage of domestic workers will be increased from US$400 to US$500.
In September, the DMW clarified that the wage hike will be implemented on a voluntary basis, as the agency will not compel employers to raise the salaries of domestic workers to a minimum of US$500. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)