A total of 3,268 workers in private companies in the Caraga Region were regularized for the year 2019, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE-13) reported.

In a year-end press briefing on Monday (December 16), DOLE-13 Regional Director Chona Mantilla said the regularization of workers particularly in the private sector is among the priorities of the agency in the region for the year.

Mantilla said that from the year 2016 until 2019, a total of 15,179 workers from private companies were already regularized.

“Most of the cases of regularization are voluntary, which means the employers themselves push to regularize their employees,” she said.

For this year, DOLE-13 targeted to inspect 1,210 establishments as mandated by the agency but they can exceed up to 1,268 establishments this year, Mantilla added.

The inspection of establishments, she said, also covered around 33,000 workers in Caraga Region.

Mantilla also reported of 79.83 percent compliance rate this year on minimum wage among the establishments in Caraga Region which is higher than the 76 percent compliance recorded last year.

At the briefing, records presented by the Regional Tripartite Wage Productivity Board (RTWPB-13) showed the minimum wage in the region is set at PHP305 daily as per Wage Order No. RXIII-16 issued on May 1 this year.

The wage for domestic workers for this year also increased to PHP3,500 per month in cities and first-class municipalities and P3,000 per month in other municipalities based on Wage Order No. RTWPB-13-DW-02, the report of RTWPB-13 added. (PNA)