The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-3 (RTWPB-3) has started to conduct a series of public consultations to discuss the adjustment of salary rates for minimum wage earners in Central Luzon.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Director and RTWPB-3 Chairperson Geraldine Panlilio said on Thursday the public consultation which covers all the seven provinces in the region aims to hear the views of all stakeholders on the need for wage adjustment.
“The public consultations provide an opportunity for stakeholders, labor unions, employers, and employees to voice their concerns and insights and contribute to the decisionmaking process. The valuable inputs and feedback from the sectors involved will be thoroughly considered in crafting a comprehensive and balanced minimum wage adjustment proposal,” Panlilio said.
She said that 76 representatives from various sectors participated in the first public consultation in Pampanga held last month while 108 and 70 attended similar events in Bulacan and Bataan, respectively.
RTWPB-3 OIC-Board Secretary Kenneth Liza said the next public consultations will be conducted in Zambales, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, and Aurora.
Liza, however, said the dates and locations of the public consultation for the remaining provinces are yet to be finalized and announced.
“I urge all stakeholders, employers, employees, and labor unions from the remaining provinces to please attend the public consultations. Through this, we can ensure a well-balanced representation of sectors,” he said.
Liza said after the public consultations, the wage board would then deliberate and decide on the wage hike adjustment, taking into consideration the needs of the workers and their families, the capacity of employers to pay, and the existing socio-economic condition in the region.
The last wage order in the region was issued in June 2022 under Wage Order No. RBIII-23, mandating a PHP40 increase in the daily minimum wage of workers in private establishments in the region.
The PHP40 increase was given in two tranches where the first PHP30 was upon the effectivity of the wage order in June 2022, and the remaining PHP10 was given last January.
Under the prevailing order, minimum earners in Central Luzon in the non-agriculture category and establishments with more than 10 workers receive a PHP460 basic pay per day.
Employees working in the non-agriculture category and establishments with less than 10 workers have a PHP453 basic pay per day.
Under the agriculture category, the prevailing wages for plantation and non-plantation workers are PHP430 and PHP414, respectively.
For the retail or service category, the daily minimum wage in establishments with 10 or more workers is PHP449 and PHP435 in establishments with less than 10 workers.
This prevailing salary applies to minimum wage earners in the provinces of Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan, Zambales, Bataan and Nueva Ecija.
For the province of Aurora, the daily minimum wage rate for non-agriculture category is PHP409.
The daily minimum wage for plantation workers in agriculture establishments is PHP394 and PHP382 for non-plantation workers.
Meanwhile, workers in retail and service establishments have a daily minimum wage of PHP344. (PNA)
