Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 15) — Minimum wage earners in Cordillera, Bicol, and Eastern Visayas will see a ₱30 raise in their daily pay beginning Dec. 5, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced on Wednesday.
The DOLE’s National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) approved the wage orders submitted by the wage boards of the three regions.
The hike is expected to directly benefit 150,484 minimum wage earners, according to DOLE.
Aside from the minimum wage hike, the NWPC also increased the monthly salary of kasambahays by at least ₱400 up to ₱1,000, which will help roughly 162,970 domestic workers, of whom around 34,111 are on live-in arrangements.
Based on the order, the ₱30 hike will bring the new minimum wage rate in Bicol to P395. Domestic workers there will see a ₱1,000 increase or a P5,000 new minimum monthly pay rate.
In Eastern Visayas, the new minimum wage for non-agricultural businesses and retail or service companies with 11 employees or more is ₱405.
Meanwhile, employees in the retail or service sectors hiring 10 or fewer workers, the cottage and handicraft industry, and the agricultural sector, will receive ₱375.
The NWPC hiked the salary of domestic workers there by ₱500, bringing their monthly pay to P5,500 in chartered cities and first-class municipalities, and ₱5,000 in other municipalities in the region.
For the Cordillera region, the new minimum wage rate is ₱430 after the ₱30 hike, while domestic workers in the region will receive a monthly rate of ₱4,900 after a ₱400 increase.
The DOLE said the latest wage orders will be published on Nov. 19 and will take effect after 15 days or on Dec. 5.
