City of San Fernando– The Department of Labor and Employment Regional Office No. III reminds employers in the region to comply with the newly issued wage order for minimum wage earners effective January 1, 2020.
DOLE 3 Regional Director and chair of the Regional Wage Board Ma. Zenaida Angara-Campita said that the salary increase is based on Wage Order No. RBIII-22 granting a P20 increase per day to the existing minimum wage in Central Luzon. “The new rate that is effective on the first day of 2020 applies to all minimum wage earners in the private sector regardless of position, employment status, and how their wages are paid,” Angara-Campita mentioned.
Under Wage Order No. RBIII-22, the prevailing minimum wage for non-agricultural establishments employing 10 or more workers in the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales will increase from P400 to P420 per day while those with less than 10 workers shall pay their employees at least P413 daily. In the province of Aurora, workers in the non-agri sector will receive a minimum daily salary of P369 from the previous rate of P349.
Meanwhile, for the agricultural sector in Central Luzon except Aurora, P390 and P374 are the new minimum rates for plantation and non-plantation, respectively. Workers in plantation and non-plantation in Aurora will receive at least P354 and P342, respectively.
Upon effectivity of the new wage order, retail service employees in Aurora will receive P304 daily at the minimum. In other provinces, P409 and P395 will be applied for establishments with 10 or more workers and establishments with less than 10 workers, respectively.
Angara-Campita noted that these adjustments are agreed by members of the wage board that is comprised of heads from DTI 3 and NEDA 3 as well as labor and management representatives. “The board did its best to balance both the interest of workers and employers. The additional take home pay of workers is in response to inflation and rising cost of living without, of course, impeding the growth of businesses,” Angara-Campita explained.
Those who are not covered in the said wage order are household or domestic helpers and persons employed in the personal service of another, and workers of Barangay Micro Business Enterprises with Certificate of Authority, pursuant to Republic Act 9178.
After the affirmation from the National Wages and Productivity Board (NWPC), Wage Order No. RBIII-22 was issued and published in SunStar Pampanga on December 17, 2019.
Wage Order No. RBIII-22 takes precedence over Wage Order No. RBIII-21, which took effect on August 1, 2018.
