Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 14) — Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III expects other regional boards to follow suit in issuing orders regarding calls to increase workers’ minimum wage.
“I thank the wage boards for heeding my call to expedite the review of the current minimum wage in their respective regions,” the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) official said.
“Following the lead of the NCR and Western Visayas, I expect the other regional wage boards to issue their respective wage orders in the coming days and week,” he said.
The department announced Saturday that the wage boards of Metro Manila and Western Visayas have approved the minimum wage hike in various sectors.
For the country’s capital region, workers have been granted a ₱33 wage hike, increasing the minimum wage rate to ₱570 for the non-agriculture sector and ₱533 for the agriculture sector.
Employees of non-agriculture, industrial, and commercial establishments in Western Visayas could expect their wages to increase by ₱55 to ₱110. The order raises the daily minimum wage to ₱450 and ₱420 for those employing more than 10 workers and those employing 10 or less workers, respectively.
Those in the agriculture sector, on the other hand, will see their daily minimum wage to increase by ₱95 to ₱410.
“I am confident we can overcome the odds in wage-setting if only to help ease the living condition of our minimum wage earners,” the labor chief said.
