Leyte traders seek exemption from pay hike order
TACLOBAN CITY—At least 22 businessmen in Leyte province have requested the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to exempt them from the new wage order citing the losses they incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But their request may be a long shot at the moment, according to Neil Moraleta, senior labor and employment officer.
“I doubt if the board will grant it,” he said Tuesday.
Under Wage Order No. 22, the more than 1.7 million private workers in Eastern Visayas, both in the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, would receive an additional daily wage of P50.
Moraleta said the new wage order had not included an exemption on the salary increase.
Instead, the labor department made sure that business owners would strictly follow the new wage order, which took effect on June 27.
“Making sure that establishments will comply with the wage order is part of what we are doing,” Moraleta said.
He said their personnel had been visiting establishments in connection with the new wage order issued June 6 by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Eastern Visayas (RTWPB-8).
Based on Wage Order Number 22, private workers would receive a daily wage of P375. Workers in firms employing 11 workers and above would receive the same amount.
Establishments with 10 workers and below, and those in the cottage and handicraft sectors, are to receive P345 daily.
The Labor Code of the Philippines states that violators would get an imprisonment of not less than two years nor more than five years or a fine of not less than P10,000 nor more than P50,000 or both such imprisonment and fine, at the discretion of the court.
