THE Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB), in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole), is set to hold an orientation on productivity and minimum wage compliance in all provinces of Central Luzon.
Dole Regional Director and RTWPB chairperson Ma. Zenaida Campita said the Wage Board in December 2019 issued Wage Order 22, providing for a P20 increase in the daily minimum wage of workers in agriculture, non-agriculture and retail and service industries.
"The wage order issued by the Wage Board took effect on January 1, 2020 and we already approved its implementing rules and regulations," she said.
Aside from Dole, the Wage Board is composed of the regional directors of National Economic and Development Authority and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as vice chairpersons, and two representatives each from the labor and employer sectors.
"Service establishments, as defined in the rules, refer to entities principally engaged in the sale of services to individuals for their own or household use, while retail establishments refer to entities principally engaged in the sale of goods to end users for personal or household use," Campita said.
The implementing rules provide that the new daily minimum wage rates shall not apply to Barangay Micro Business Enterprises with Certificate of Authority issued by DTI.
Distressed establishments and establishments adversely affected by natural calamities are also exempted from the application of the wage order.
Campita urged employers not only to pay the minimum wage but also to implement productivity-based incentives schemes in their establishments to translate productivity into wage gains for workers.
"The Wage Board secretariat will assist private establishments in formulating and implementing productivity improvement programs and performance-based incentive schemes," she said. (PIA)