Wage hike in NCR, W. Visayas takes effect next month: DOLE

LABOR Secretary Silvestre Bello III yesterday said the minimum wage hike in Metro Manila and Western Visayas announced by the department last May 14 will be implemented next month.
Under the order issued last May 13, minimum wage earners in Metro Manila will receive a P33 raise, while workers in Western Visayas will get from P55 to P110.
“It will take effect on June 3 after their separate wage orders were affirmed by the National Wages and Productivity Commission on Tuesday,” Bello, the chair of the NWPC, said in an online briefing.
The minimum rate in the metropolis will increase to P570 for workers in the non-agriculture sector and P533 for agriculture sector workers. The last wage hike for workers in the private sector in NCR was implemented in 2018.
The wage increase in Western Visayas will bring the daily minimum wage to P450 and P420, respectively.
Workers in the agriculture sector in Western Visayas were also granted a P95 wage hike, bringing the daily minimum wage to P410. The last wage increase in Western Visayas was implemented in 2019.
Bello also said that minimum wage earners in the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley and Caraga will soon receive higher pay after their respective Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) issued wage orders increasing their minimum pay.
Bello said the RTWPB 1 (Ilocos region) unanimously issued an order last May 16 providing wage increases ranging from P60 to P90 in two to three tranches.
“After full implementation of the tranches, the minimum wage rate in the region will range from P372 to P400 from P282 to P340 under the previous wage order,” he said.
He said the RTWPB also unanimously issued another order granting P500 and P1,500 monthly wage increases for domestic workers in cities and first-class municipalities and for other municipalities in the Ilocos region, respectively, bringing the new monthly wage rate to P5,000.
He said the RTWPB II (Cagayan Valley) followed suit and, in an order dated May 17, also granted wage increases ranging from P50 to P75 in two to three tranches.
Bello said after full implementation of the tranches, the minimum wage rate in the region will range from P400 to P420 from P345 to P370.
Workers in the Caraga region will also get a wage hike based on an order also dated May 17 that integrated the P15 cost of living allowance to the P305 basic salary under the previous wage order and granted a P30 wage increase bringing the new daily minimum wage rate in the region to P350.
“The new daily minimum wage rate of P350 shall take effect upon the effectivity of the wage order for private establishments and their workers in Butuan City and the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Surigao del Sur,” Bello said.
For for private establishments and their workers in the provinces of Dinagat Islands and Surigao del Norte, including Siargao Islands, the wage increase of P20 will only take effect upon the effectivity of the wage order and another P10 September 1 this year.
The labor chief said the new wage orders will be submitted to the NWPC for review and shall take effect 15 days after publication in a newspaper of regional circulation.
Bello said under the Omnibus Rules on Minimum Wage Determination, retail/service establishments regularly employing not more than 10 workers and establishments affected by natural calamities and/or human-induced disasters, including the pandemic, may apply for exemption from compliance with the wage hike orders.