Nathaniel Lacambra, regional director of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and concurrent chairman of the regional tripartite wages and productivity board, said the wage adjustment was reached following a series of consultations with the region’s labor and management sectors.
Although the labor sector described the increase as an "extreme pittance," the DOLE said it was the most reasonable under the present circumstances.
The labor sector had demanded a P101 daily wage increase to help workers cope with the continuing increases in the prices of oil and basic commodities as well as in transport fare and utility rates.
Employers, on the other hand, proposed an P8 increase, which was supported by the Cagayan Valley Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Isabela Chamber of Commerce, Isabela Electric Cooperative and the Cagayan Valley Robina Sugar Mill Corp.
The wage adjustment brings the workers’ daily minimum wage to P208 for Cagayan, P205 for Isabela, P201 for Nueva Vizcaya, and P190 for Quirino and Batanes.<