ILOILO City – Minimum wage earners in the private sector across Western Visayas can anticipate a wage increase before the end of 2024, according to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB).
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 6 director Atty. Sixto Rodriguez Jr., who also chairs the RTWPB, confirmed that the decision for the wage hike was based on a series of public consultations held in September in Roxas City and Negros Occidental.
“We have already conducted the public consultations, and based on the results, we determined that there is a necessity to issue a wage increase order,” Rodriguez said following a regional wage public hearing held on Thursday morning, October 10, in this city.
The factors considered for the wage increase included the demand from employees, rising inflation, and the depreciation of the peso’s purchasing power, which has decreased from its 2018 value of one peso to just 77 centavos in August 2024.
Yesterday’s public hearing brought together representatives from labor groups, management, and the board to discuss the possible amount of the wage hike.
In their position paper submitted to DOLE-6 on October 2, the United Labor-Western Visayas (ULWV) advocated for a P150 recovery rate to be added to the current wages of private sector workers.
On the other hand, employers urged that the minimum wage increase in Western Visayas should not exceed the recent wage hike in Central Visayas, where a P501 daily minimum wage was implemented, given that Central Visayas is economically more advanced.
The wage hike in Central Visayas took effect on October 2, with daily minimum wages adjusted to P501 for Class A areas, P463 for Class B, and P453 for Class C.
Rodriguez said the exact wage increase for Western Visayas would be determined after the final public hearing in Negros Occidental later this month.
“There is support for the P150 wage increase from labor groups, although some groups are willing to settle for a lower amount. No one is opposing the wage hike, but there is a push for a modest increase,” Rodriguez noted.
He added that RTWPB-6 is considering aligning the wage increase closely with those of other regions, noting that recent wage orders in Region 3 provided P50 hikes, while Region 7 granted a higher increase.
Rodriguez indicated that a new wage order for Western Visayas would be issued after November 16, 2024, which marks the anniversary of Wage Order RBVI-27.
This wage review follows President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s directive on Labor Day 2024 for all RTWPBs to reassess minimum wage rates in their respective regions.
Currently, under Wage Order RBVI-27, which took effect on November 16, 2023, the minimum wage rates in Western Visayas are as follows:
* Non-agriculture (employing more than 10 workers) – P480
* Non-agriculture (employing 10 workers or less) – P450
* Agriculture – P440
These rates apply to Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental, including the cities of Iloilo and Bacolod./PN
