Some 269,767 workers in the private sector will receive an additional PHP35 increase in their daily wage effective June 25 this year, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Zamboanga Peninsula said Thursday.
DOLE-Zamboanga Peninsula Director Roy Buenafe said that based on Wage Order No. RIX-21, workers in non-agricultural as well as retail and service establishments will receive PHP351 daily minimum wage starting June 25.
The wage increase for workers in the agricultural sector will be given in two tranches. The first tranche is PHP20 increase daily starting June 25 and PHP15 on the second tranche effective October 1.
“The RTWPB (Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board ) noted that the current consumer price index increased from PHP99.60 in July 2018 to PHP111.10 in April 2022, which was the basis of the decision of the Board to adjust the minimum wage,” Buenafe said in a press conference Thursday.
Effective June 25, the daily minimum wage in the agricultural sector is PHP323 and PHP338 effective October 1 based on the new wage order.
“The long wait is over. The decision to increase minimum wages in the Zamboanga Peninsula region has been hard-fought considering the impact of the pandemic on the regional economy,” Buenafe said.
He said the wage hike took into account the economic wellbeing of MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises), the majority type of business operating in the region, as well as other businesses affected by the pandemic.
According to the wage order, the increase “shall apply to all minimum wage earners in the private sector within the region, regardless of their position, designation or status, and method by which their wages are paid.”
Meanwhile, the RTWPB also issued Wage Order No. RIX-DW-3 providing PHP500 monthly salary increase for Kasambahays in the region effective June 25.
The minimum monthly salary of Kasambahays in the chartered city and first class municipalities will increase to PHP4,000 from PHP3,500 and in other municipalities to PHP3,500 from PHP3,000.
The wage order stated that no deductions shall be made other than those mandated by law. (PNA)
