By Dec. 1, 2023, all private establishments in the Bicol region will have to pay their workers an extra P30 per day to comply with the new minimum wage order affirmed last week by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC).
A total of 150,484 minimum wage earners across three (3) regions will directly benefit from the wage increases as the Commission affirmed the wage orders submitted by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) in Cordillera Administrative Region, Bicol Region and Eastern Visayas.
About 521,604 full-time wage and salary workers earning above the minimum wage may also indirectly benefit as a result of upward adjustments at the enterprise level arising from wage distortion corrections.
The three RTWPBs have also issued wage orders for the kasambahays or domestic helpers. The new wage orders are expected to benefit around 162,970 domestic workers – about 21% (34,111) are on live-in arrangements.
As of date, 12 RTWPBs have issued their respective wage orders, out of which six (6) were initiated motu proprio.
In Bicol, the RTWPB V, by virtue of a petition, issued Wage Order No. RBV-21 on Oct. 23, 2023, providing a ₱30 increase for all minimum wage workers in private establishments in the region, bringing the daily minimum wage in the region to ₱395 from the previous P365 per day.
The regional board likewise issued Wage Order No. RBV-DW-03 granting a monthly increase of ₱1,000 for kasambahays, increasing the monthly minimum wage rate of domestic workers to ₱5,000 in chartered cities and first-class towns.
Those in other municipalities will enjoy a monthly rate of P4,000.
The wage orders were published on Nov. 15, 2023 and shall take effect on Dec. 1, 2023.
Similar P30 increases in the minimum daily wage were approved in Eastern Visayas (P375 to 405, depending on sector or industry) and Cordillera Administrative Region (P430).
The increases, which considered the various wage determination criteria provided under Republic Act No. 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act, either resulted from the motu proprio act of the Board or petitions filed by labor groups seeking an increase in the daily minimum wage due to escalating prices of basic goods and commodities.
Each Board, comprised of representatives from the government, management, and labor sectors, conducted public hearings and wage deliberations.
As in any wage order, and as provided for in the NWPC Omnibus Rules on Minimum Wage Determination, retail/service establishments regularly employing not more than ten (10) workers, and enterprises affected by natural calamities and/or human-induced disasters may apply to the RTWPB for exemption from the wage increase.
Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) are not covered by the minimum wage law pursuant to Republic Act No. 9178 [2002].