BAGUIO CITY, May 24 — The Cordillera Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (TRWPB-CAR) has approved the salary adjustment for minimum wage earners in the private sector and domestic workers.
Exequiel Guzman, Department of Labor and Employment regional director and chair of the TRWPB-CAR, said Wednesday that Baguio’s daily minimum wage is now PHP300 for those employing 11 workers and above, and PHP285 for those employing 10 or less workers.
The daily minimum wage for Tabuk City; Bangued, Abra; Bontoc, Sagada and Bauko Mtn. Province; Lagawe, Ifugao and Tublay for industries employing 11 workers and above is now P290 from PHP275 and PHP280 for those employing 10 workers and below.
For the other areas in the region, the minimum wage for those employing 11 workers and above was raised to PHP280 from PHP265 and for those employing 10 workers and below, from PHP255 to PHP270.
Guzman said the adjustment came after a series of consultations in the region’s six provinces and the cities of Tabuk and Baguio.
“In the absence of a petition for a wage adjustment, the board decided to “motu proprio” initiate wage review throughout the region to elicit the possibility of wage adjustments for domestic and formal sector workers,” he said.
Itogon, Tuba and Sablan in the province of Benguet were not included in the wage order due to leveling-off with the other areas.
Earlier, Sablan, a fifth class municipality, followed the PHP285 daily minimum wage in Baguio, which in “reality is not balanced” considering the wide gap in the economic situation of both areas.
Johnny Dela Cruz, RTWPB member representing the employer sector, said the factors considered in the adjustment of salary is the “balancing factor” or productivity and the capacity to pay of the employers.
Rey Lardizabal, representative of the workers’ sector, related that during the consultations, there were employees who said that they also consider the plight of their employers.
“They also want to make sure that they will continue to have jobs and their industries will not close shop, so a reasonable amount in consideration of the capacity to pay of the owners is also proper,” he said.
A separate wage order was issued by the RTWPB, which pegged the minimum wage of domestic workers to PHP3,000 in cities and first class municipalities and PHP2,500 in other municipalities.
Wage Order CAR-DW-02 covering domestic workers approved on April 19 took effect on May 8 while Wage Order RB-CAR-18 approved on April 19 will take effect on June 5.
**Liza T. Agoot/PNA
