Large number of employees in the Philippines get wage hike
- Champa Ha
Around 4.1 million minimum wage earners have benefited from the salary adjustments in certain regions in the Philippines in 2023, as issued by Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs).
The employees, who all worked in the private sector, were in 15 regions across the Philippines which experienced the wage hike orders, nine of which were initiated motu proprio, or implemented officially without a formal request from the different governments in these sectors, as announced by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) in a social media post earlier this week.
The RTWPB-National Capital Region (NCR) was the first to issue a wage hike order in June, which provided for a P40 (US$40) pay hike. This saw the minimum wage in Metro Manila rise from P570-P610 (US$10.24-US$10.96) in non-agricultural sectors and P533- P573 (US$9.58-US$10.30) in the agriculture sector. The Northern Mindanao wage board was the latest to issue a wage hike order in December, with their rates going from P423 – P438 (US$7.60- US$7.87) in non-agricultural sectors, and from P411-P426 (US$7.38-US$7.65) in agriculture sectors.
While the Davao Region wage board has not yet issued a new wage order, the board has already held consultations with stakeholders such as the Philippine Statistics Authority, the Department of Trade and Industry, the National Economic and Development Authority, and the Department of Agriculture. Public hearings are scheduled to go on in the first quarter of 2024.
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The NWPC has added that around 8.1 million “full-time wage and salary employees” earning above minimum wage will benefit from the correction of wage distortions. This occurs when variations in wage structures or rates among employee groups are reduced significantly or eliminated largely thanks to mandated wage increases, reported Manila Times.
