NCR workers may get wage hike in July – DOLE

MANILA, Philippines — Minimum wage earners in Metro Manila are likely to get an increase in their daily take-home by mid-July, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in the National Capital Region (NCR) is set to hold a public hearing today and come out with a decision before the anniversary date of the latest wage order in July.

“We expect a decision after their deliberation,” he said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum.

Historically, Laguesma said, the RTWPB grants salary increases after its deliberation. He said the wage board has no authority to cut down the prevailing wage rate.

“All deliberations of the wage board are on increases, though some would say they are small and not enough. But the bottom line is there is an increase,” he said.

According to Laguesma, the
RTWPB in NCR initiated the process in May following the directive of President Marcos for a timely wage review 60 days prior to the anniversary of the latest wage adjustment in the different regions.

Laguesma said the RTWPB in NCR initiated the review even without a pending petition for a salary hike.

Recently, a formal petition seeking a P500 increase in daily wage was filed before the NCR wage board, he said.

The prevailing daily minimum wage rate in NCR is P610, which workers claimed is way below the living wage.

Laguesma said the RTWPBs must strike a balance between workers’ needs and employers’ capacity to pay in their decisions.

As this developed, the labor coalition Nagkaisa urged the RTWPB in NCR to address the demand of workers for not less than P150 increase in daily wage.

Nagkaisa noted that for the past 35 years, the RTWPBs never granted what the workers have petitioned.

Last year, the workers asked for a P100 pay hike, but the RTWPB only granted P40 without a clear basis, Nagkaisa said.