Dole pushes new wage system

Holding two jobs and selling retail goods on the side are among steps minimum wage earners in Cebu are taking to augment their meager income.

Employees like Joyce Benares, who is a barista, cashier and team leader at a Cebu City coffeeshop, said she’s trying to earn more because she’s helping her brother finish college.

The Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) and the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB), however, are planning to implement a system that can increase or give more benefits to the minimum wage earners in Central Visayas.

They said they were pushing for the Two-Tiered Wage System which would include the performance or productivity-based wage for workers.

Wage Board secretary Grace C. Carreon, said the system had already been implemented in other regions since last year but because of lack of awareness on the system, they decided not to implement it yet in Central Visayas.

“What we’ll do for now is generate more awareness through massive information campaign, showcase best practices on productivity and trainings for enterprises and productivity practitioners on how to measure productivity,” said Carreon.

initiative

But as the Dole and wage board look for ways to increase the workers’ income, Benares, who earns a daily wage of P327 daily, said it would be up to us then to find ways to increase our income.

“With the expenses here, minimum wage earners like me will really need to take the initiative to earn extra income. In my case, I’m now a member of Avon and Boardwalk as a dealer,” said Benares.

She said that her income from the dealership could reach at least P2,000 on average months and could go higher depending on the number of orders.

When she graduated from a two-year Associate Hotel and Restaurant Management course at the University of Cebu, she applied and worked at a fast food chain and earned a minimum pay but it wasn’t enough especially that’s she’s renting a room with her sister and brother in the city.

another job

And so she took another job as an English as Second Language teacher during her free time.

This went on for over a year until she got accepted in her present job last 2011.

Meanwhile, Dole regional director Chona M. Mantilla said that they planned to start implementing the two-tiered system within the year in the region and get a good number of companies to participate by 2016.

NEW MINDSET

“This is a change of mindset and it is not easy. That is why we need to make people more aware of the system. Although we know some companies already are doing this, we think that it is still new for others,” said Mantilla.

The system includes the floor wage for those who don’t have skills yet and experience while the performance-based or productivity-based is the second tier which is optional because we also look at the capacity of the employer.

One example of productivity-based wage is gains sharing to their employees, Carreon said.

“This can encourage people to do their best. Another way is to give incentives like rice or leave incentives or even recognition because this can help encourage employees and make them feel more satisfied of their work and thus maintain labor and management peace,” said Carreon.