P33-P40 wage hike approved for W. Visayas workers
ILOILO CITY, Philippines – Employees in private establishments will be receiving a salary increase of P33 to P40 a day this year, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) confirmed on Wednesday, October 23.
The RTWPB-6 said workers in non-agricultural establishments with more than 10 employees will receive a P33 increase, raising their daily take home pay from P480 to P513. Those with less than 10 workers will see a P35-hike in salary from P450 to P485.
Meanwhile, agricultural workers will get a P40 increase in their daily P440 wage, resulting in a daily take home pay of P480.
The RTWPB-6 also announced that household helpers or kasambahays will receive a P1,000 increase in their monthly wage — from P5,000 to P6,000.
RTWPB-6 Chairperson Sixto Rodriguez said the increase was unanimously approved by the wage board on October 22.
The approved wage hike is expected to take effect after November 16, following approval and issuance of a new wage order by the National Wages and Productivity Commission.
Labor group ‘dismayed’
Mario Andon, spokesperson for the United Labor-Western Visayas, an alliance of labor groups, said they were disappointed by the approved salary increase.
“We are dismayed because we asked for a P150 increase for us to recover the losses we had during and after the pandemic due to the high inflation rates in the region,” he said.
The P150 increase sought by the labor group would have raised the minimum daily wage from P480 in 2023 to P630.
“The cost of basic commodities and services [has] significantly increased since the issuance of the aforementioned wage order, not to mention the recent increases in fuel price,” the petition read.
The petitioners also pointed out that the current daily minimum wage of P480 only provides P10,569 per month for 22 days of work — far below the poverty threshold of P13,800 for a family of five in Western Visayas in 2023.
They called this a “starvation wage,” or a wage insufficient for the ordinary necessities of life.
Economic think tank Ibon Foundation reported that, as of September 2024, the living wage for a family of five in Western Visayas was at P1,024 per day. This reflects a 53.1% gap compared to the current P480 daily nominal minimum wage.
“We don’t know what their basis is for giving that increase because it’s far from what we were asking for, especially considering the region’s inflation rate,” Andon said.
The RTWPB-6 conducted a series of public consultations and hearings among all stakeholders in the service sector before the wage increase was approved.
Hike comparative to Central Visayas
Rodriguez explained that the employers’ groups presented their own formula that considered factors such as the average wage rate, inflation rate, and gross domestic product, among others.
The employees’ group, meanwhile, argued that the increase should reduce the salary gap between the National Capital Region and other regions.
“Initially the offer of the management or employers’ group was P25. For the employees, they said that it should be an additional P50 to lessen the gap,” he said.
Because both sides could not agree on a P30-P35 increase, Rodriguez suggested a P33 increase, which he considered reasonable since it was not lower than, and was just the same as, that of Central Visayas.
Rodriguez also clarified that Negros Occidental and Bacolod City will follow the same wage rates as the rest of Western Visayas, despite the creation of the Negros Island Region, which has yet to establish its own wage board. – Rappler.com
Rjay Zuriaga Castor is a 2024 Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow. He is a reporter for The Daily Guardian, an Iloilo-based newspaper.