(UPDATE) EFFECTIVE next month, private sector workers and domestic helpers or "kasambahay" will start to reap the benefits of another wage increase recently approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) of Eastern Visayas.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma disclosed over the weekend that the RTWPB-8 issued Wage Order RB 8-24, granting a P30 daily minimum wage increase across all sectors.
The order brings the daily minimum wage rates to P405 to P435 in different sectors/industries upon full implementation of all tranches.
At the same time, the regional board also approved a P500 monthly increase for kasambahay in the region, bringing the sector's monthly minimum wage to a range of P5,500 to P6,000.
Both wage orders were affirmed by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) on Nov. 13, 2024. The order was published on Nov. 16. And shall take effect on Dec. 2 2024.
The increases considered the needs of workers and their families, capacity of employers/industry to pay, and the requirements of economic and social development in the region provided under Republic Act (RA) 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act.
The regional board, composed of representatives from the government, management and labor sectors, likewise conducted consultations and a public hearing in the region as part of the minimum wage determination process.
The new rates for workers in the private sector translate to a 7-percent increase from the prevailing daily minimum wage rates in the region and result in a comparable 10-percent increase in wage-related benefits covering 13th-month pay, service incentive leave, and social security benefits such as SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG.
The wage order is expected to directly benefit 126,095 minimum wage earners. About 175,639 full-time wage and salary workers earning above the minimum wage may also indirectly benefit because of upward adjustments at the enterprise level arising from the correction of wage distortion.
On the other hand, the wage increase for kasambahay is also expected to benefit a total of 57,080 domestic workers — approximately 18 percent (10,302) of whom are on live-in arrangements.
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 10 workers, and enterprises affected by natural calamities and/or human-induced disasters may apply to the RTWPB for exemption from the wage increase.
Registered barangay micro business enterprises are not covered by the minimum wage law pursuant to RA 9178.
The last wage orders for workers in the private establishments and domestic workers in the region were both issued on Nov. 6, 2023 and became effective on Nov. 30, 2023.
For other regions, RTWPBs CAR, 4B, and 9 are in various stages of the minimum wage determination process. RTWPBs 10 and 13 will commence minimum wage determination this November 2024 and RTWPB 11 in January 2025.
Meanwhile, RTWPB-5 has decided to defer the wage determination process in the region due to the destructive impact of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine.
The deferment will remain in effect until an appropriate recovery period has concluded. The board, for the next three months, shall closely monitor the socioeconomic conditions in the region.
Read The Rest at :
