MANILA, Philippines?The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) Monday granted a P22 increase in basic pay of Metro Manila workers, raising their daily minimum wage from P382 to P404.

Ciriaco Lagunsad, executive director of the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), confirmed the pay increase but said he had yet to get details of the wage order from the RTWPB, which is chaired by a director of the Department of Labor and Employment.

The RTWPB is to formally announce the wage order on Tuesday at a press conference at the NWPC office in Manila.

The increase will be effective 15 days after the publication of the order.

Rafael Mapalo, deputy spokesperson of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), told reporters that the labor group would file a motion for reconsideration before the board.

Mapalo said the TUCP was disappointed with the P22 increase but would seek its implementation by the next pay day.

The TUCP earlier petitioned the RTWPB for a P75 increase for Metro Manila workers suffering from inflation and hard economic times due to the global financial crisis.

Militant labor groups, such as the Kilusang Mayo Uno and the Partido ng Manggagawa, have been demanding a P125 across-the-board increase nationwide for all workers in the private sector.

The last wage increase of P20 in Metro Manila was approved by the RTWPB in June 2008.