‘Kasambahay’ in Visayas to get at least P2,000 pay hike

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Philippines — The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Eastern Visayas has approved an increase in the minimum pay of “kasambahay” in the region, with a labor official describing this as a “Christmas gift” for local household helpers.

From the current P2,000 monthly pay, household helpers living in cities and first class towns in the region will receive P4,500 while those working in areas classified as second to sixth class municipalities will get P4,000.

The wage adjustment for the region’s more than 1,000 household helpers was contained under Wage Order No. 2 approved by the RTWPB on Nov. 25.

“This is our way of giving our kasambahay a Christmas gift,” Yahya Centi, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) regional director and RTWPB chair, said, noting that the board had considered the economic indicators of the region, like prices of commodities.

‘Win-win’

In Central Visayas, the RTWPB approved an P18 increase in the daily minimum pay of workers in the private sector to help them cope with rising prices of basic commodities.

The adjustment raises the daily minimum wage in Central Visayas to P404.

In an interview over local radio station dyLA, Jose Tomongha, the RTWPB Central Visayas labor sector representative, said companies with more than 10 employees in Central Visayas should grant an P18 increase while those employing nine or less should give a P10 increase to its employees.

Tomongha described the P18 increase across the region a “win-win” solution.

“The representative of management sectors (businessmen) only wants P10 per day. We in the labor sector, on the other hand, demanded P40 per day. The management sectors then asked for P13, while we lowered [our demand] to P20. We then agreed to an P18 increase,” Tomongha said.

In Central Visayas, household helpers in Metro Cebu will receive P5,000 a month while those in other areas in the region will get P4,000.

Norma Jaser, 48, who has been working as a maid for more than three years now in Tacloban City, was grateful for the salary increase.

“Of course, it’s a very good news for all of us, kasambahay. Our current salary is really not enough to help our families,” said Jaser, a mother of two who is receiving P3,500 a month.

An employer, who works at the city government of Tacloban, said: “Nowadays, it’s very difficult to find a kasambahay you can trust. I am okay with the new salary adjustments for our kasambahay.”—REPORTS FROM JOEY
GABIETA AND NESTLE SEMILLA