CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) enjoined employers in Central Luzon to comply with the newly issued wage order for minimum wage earners which took effect last January 1.
Wage Order No. RBIII-22 grants a P20 increase per day to the existing minimum wage in the region as reported by the Philippine Information Agency-3.
DOLE regional director and Regional Wage Board chairperson Zenaida Angara-Campita said 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.
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-agriculture 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 PP374 are the new minimum rates for plantation and non-plantation workers, 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 while 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 the wage adjustments were agreed by the Wage Board whose members include the Regional Directors of Department of Trade and Industry and National Economic and Development Authority and representatives from labor and management.
“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.
Not covered by the wage order were household helpers and persons employed in the personal service of another as well as 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, Wage Order No. RBIII-22 was issued and published in a regional newspaper on December 17, 2019.
Wage Order No. RBIII-22 takes precedence over Wage Order No. RBIII-21, which took effect on August 1, 2018.
