Heed new wage rates or face fine, Western Visayas employers told

Western Visayas (outlined in red from Google Maps)

BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines — The chief of the Department of Labor and Employment in Western Visayas (DOLE) has warned employers in the region to pay their workers using the new wage rates approved by the agency or get penalized.

Sixto Rodriquez Jr., DOLE regional director, cited Republic Act No. 8188 which would fine an employer who refused to pay the prescribed increases between P25,000 and P100,000. Violators, he said, also face imprisonment of two to four years at the discretion of the court.

On May 12, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Western Visayas (RTWPB) granted private sector workers in the region a pay increase.

Under the new wage order, workers in private establishments with more than 10 employees will earn P450 daily or P55 higher than the current P395.

On the other hand, workers in private establishments employing 10 workers and below will get a daily minimum wage of P420 from P310. Agricultural workers will get a pay of P410 daily from P315.

Wennie Sancho, labor representative to the RTWPB, proposed that a task force composed of representatives of labor and management be granted “visitorial powers” to monitor compliance of the wage order.

“If the new wages are not reflected in their salaries on June 15, workers should file complaints before the Dole,” he said.

Rodriquez said that under the law, only the regional director could authorize inspectors to conduct routine inspections of establishments.

“There is no such thing as a task force to implement the law,” he said.

—CARLA P. GOMEZ

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