Davao wage increased by P19
THE DAVAO regional wage board has approved a P19 increase to the daily minimum wage of workers in agriculture and non-agricultural industries, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said on Sunday.
In a statement, the DoLE said the Davao Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board issued the order on Feb. 13 which brings the daily minimum wages to P481 for the non-agricutulre sector and P476 for the agriculture sector.
It will take effect on March 6, but minimum wage earners will receive P19 more as a second tranche on Sept 1.
DoLE said 132,347 minimum wage earners in the region will directly benefit from the wage hike, while 316,558 workers earning above minimum wage will indirectly benefit due to wage distortion adjustments.
The board also approved an order increasing the monthly minimum wage for domestic workers to P1,500 for those in chartered cities and first-class municipalities and P500 for other municipalities. This brings their basic monthly pay to P6,000 and P5,000 respectively.
The move will benefit 64,111 domestic workers, noting about 37% or 23,479 of them work in live-in arrangements.
“The new rates for workers in the private sector translate to a 9% increase from the prevailing daily minimum wage rates in the region and result in a comparable 23% increase in wage-related benefits,” DoLE said.
In June last year, Metro Manila’s daily minimum wage rose by P40 to P610, much lower than the P570 increase sought by some labor groups.
The Senate last week approved on second reading a P100 increase to the minimum wages of workers in the private sector.
The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECoP) earlier said the legislated wage hike would only benefit about 10% of the workforce, saying those in the informal sector would not be helped.
“You have a process with the process with the regional wage boards and all of a sudden, you see a legislated wage increase. What do you think investors will say,” ECoP President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. said by telephone on Feb. 14. — John Victor D. Ordoñez