Caraga workers to get P25 more

BUTUAN CITY—Minimum wage earners here will start receiving P305 in daily wage after the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) approved a new order increasing by P25 the minimum wage in Caraga region.

Earl dela Victoria, RTWPB secretary, said the new wage order would be implemented in three tranches: the first P10 to be given this month, the next P10 in February next year, and the last P5 in May next year.

But a workers’ group said the increase would not be enough to cover the impact of inflation.

The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said workers needed a daily wage of at least P750 daily due to the increases in prices of basic commodities over the years.

Dela Victoria said the wage board approved the increase after considering the needs of workers, the capacity of the employers to pay, and the region’s competitiveness.

The new wage order was the latest to be issued in Caraga over a five-year period.

In 2013, the board approved a P10 increase in the daily
minimum wage, bringing the workers’ pay to P250 a day. In 2015, the board granted another P15 increase to keep workers “above the poverty threshold” amid admission among labor officials that some companies had failed to comply with earlier wage orders.

In 2016, the board again approved an increase of P15, bringing the daily wage to P280.

But workers’ groups were not happy over these increases.

Elmer Labog, KMU national chairperson, said their group had been demanding a P750 minimum daily wage for workers, which was way below the P1,119 the government said a family of five would need to cope with basic necessities. —Franklin Caliguid