Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 3) — The decision on the wage hike petition filed in four regions may be expected in a few months, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on Monday.
“The pending petitions are in Region 3, Region 4-A, Region 6, and Region 7,” DOLE OIC Undersecretary Ernesto Bitonio Jr. told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
The DOLE official said the wage boards in these regions will conduct “public hearings and public consultations from the months of July, this month, through September and wage action can be expected between this period.”
On June 29, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in the National Capital Region approved a ₱40 increase in the daily minimum wage of workers in the private sector. This is seen to directly benefit 1.1 million minimum wage earners in Metro Manila.
The order, which will take effect on July 16, raises the daily minimum pay in the region from ₱570 to ₱610 in the non-agricultural sector, and from ₱533 to ₱573 for the \”agriculture sector, service and retail establishments employing 15 or less workers, and manufacturing establishments regularly employing less than 10 workers.\”
While some labor groups said this increase in minimum wage in the capital is not enough, Bitonio emphasized that the regional board took into consideration the criteria for wage determination as prescribed by the existing law. These include the needs of workers vis-a-visa consumer prices, capacity of a business to pay, and the economic development in the region.
READ: Metro Manila minimum wage hike draws mixed reactions
The wage hike is also not a panacea for challenges being faced by workers, like rising prices, he said.
“The target is to help alleviate the situation of lower skilled workers who are minimum wage earners,” he noted, adding that the body should not only consider the workers’ concerns, but also the concerns of employers, particularly the small and medium enterprises, who are also affected by the wage increase.
“We are coming from a very acute period of our economy in our country which was the pandemic and we are in the process if recovering from that that is why the policy of the wage boards has always been would be to adjust the minimum wage rates in a moderate and predictable manner so as to balance all the interest that are involved,” Bitonio also pointed out.
To help businesses in addressing the impact of the wage increase, Bitonio said what the department can do is help in improving their productivity. The DOLE and the Department of Trade and Industry recently sealed a memorandum to boost production of small enterprises, he noted without giving other details about it.
