Good news for Region 1 minimum wage earners! After a review of the socio-economic condition in Region 1, the Regional Wages and Productive Board in Region 1 has approved the increase of the daily minimum wage.
Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz announced that the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Region 1 (RTWPB-1) has approved and issued Wage Order No.RB1-17 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations increasing the daily minimum wage rates of workers and employees falling below the poverty income threshold by P14.00.
“Regional Director Grace Ursua reported to me that the increase will be given in two tranches. The first tranche is a P7.00 increase upon effectivity of the wage order and the second tranche is another P7.00 to be given starting 1 December 2015,” Baldoz said.
Baldoz said that with the increase, the DOLE is on track of attaining its goal under the Two-Tiered Wage System, i.e., to close the gap between all minimum wages falling below the poverty income threshold at par or above the poverty income threshold level on or before December 2015.
In her report, Director Ursua said that in deciding the amount of the increase, the RTWPB-1 considered the prevailing socio-economic condition obtaining in the region, as well as the viability of the various businesses, most of which are micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“Moreover, the increase is consistent with the government’s policy to alleviate the living conditions of workers, particularly those receiving wage rates below the regional poverty income threshold,” she said.
She estimated that the increase will immediately benefit 118,847 workers and employees working in 45,542 micro establishments in Region 1.
Excluded in the increase are kasambahay or domestic workers, persons employed in the personal service of another, including family drivers, and workers and employees of registered Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) with Certifications of Authority.
The new wage order also provides exemptions to distressed establishments, new business establishments, retail/service establishments employing not more than ten workers, and establishments adversely affected by calamities such as natural and/or human-induced disasters.
The deadline for the filing of exemptions from the coverage of the wage order is on September 17, 2015 at the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-1 or at the Field Offices of the Department of Labor and Employment in the region.
To view the regional minimum wage rate for all regions, please click here.
Source: Department of Labor and Employment
