- Labor group says additional P38 for Region XI not enough
THE REGIONAL Tripartite Wage Productivity Board approved a P38 daily minimum salary adjustment for Davao Region, which will be rolled out in two tranches.
However, a labor group in Southern Mindanao lamented that the adjustment is insufficient to support a family of five.
According to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) XI, the first tranche of P19 per day will take effect on March 6 through Wage Order No. RBXI-22.
With the adjustment, the new minimum wage for non-agriculture sectors such as industrial, commercial, retail/ service will be P462 from the present P443. Meanwhile, agricultural sector workers will receive P457 daily from the current P438.
The second tranche or P19 daily will take effect on Sept. 1, which pushes up the minimum wages to P481 and P476 for non-agriculture and agricultural sectors, respectively.
DOLE XI said more than 100,000 minimum wage earners across various positions in private establishments in the region will benefit from the wage adjustment.
The RTWPB XI recently approved the increase after a wage deliberation on Feb. 13 and a public hearing last Feb. 7.
Meanwhile, domestic workers or kasambahays were also granted a P500 to P1,500 monthly wage increase starting March 6 under Wage Order No. RBXI-DW-03, depending on the location.
House helpers in chartered cities and first-class municipalities shall receive P6,000 monthly from the current P4,500 unvaried monthly wage across the region, while those in other municipalities shall receive P5,000 per month.
More than 65,000 kasambahays in the region will benefit from the increase according to DOLE XI.
Atty. Randolph Pensoy, DOLE XI regional director, said the board meticulously assessed the wage increase considering the current socio-economic conditions in the region. Contributing factors include the Consumer Price Index and poverty threshold data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The last wage orders for minimum wage earners and domestic workers in the region were issued in May 2022 and took effect in June of the same year. However, it was fully implemented in January 2023.
Hike insufficient
“Hindi sapat ang P38 sa mga pangangailangan, kagaya ng bayarin ng tubig, kuryente, pananamit, pambayad sa bahay at dobleng problema sa pasahe na nag-iincrease rin (P38 is not enough to sustain the needs like water, electricity, clothing, rent, and the transportation fare that also increased),” Renyboy Baliguat, KMU-SMR campaign officer told TIMES in a phone interview on Tuesday, Feb. 20,
Baliguat said the ideal living wage of a family of five should be P1,100 as per the recommendation of the National Economic Development and Authority.
However, he conceded that while the P1,100 minimum wage might not be realized, they will continue to push for a P750 across-the-board increase to alleviate the plight of workers.
“Ang nakabubuti ay ibigay ang tamang pasahod na kinakailangan ng mga manggagawa. Ang mga mayayaman ngayon ay bilyon-bilyon ang kinikita, katiting lang dyan ang binibigay sa mga manggagawa (Give workers just wages. The rich today are earning billions while ordinary workers earn a pittance),” he stressed.
