P13 daily wage hike imposed in Metro Cebu only

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Only workers in the private sector in Metro Cebu can receive an increase of P13 in their daily minimum wage.

Those in the areas in Central Visayas –Bohol, Siquijor and some parts of Cebu province – will not get any adjustment, according to the new wage order issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Region 7 after being approved during a meeting on Thursday.

The adjustment will bring to P353 from P340 the minimum wage in Metro Cebu, which is composed of areas from Danao City in the north, to Carcar City in the south.

Exequiel R. Sarcauga, RTWPB chair in Central Visayas and Department of Labor and Employment regional director, said the wages of other classes in Central Visayas would stay the same.

The minimum wage of Class B, covering areas of Cebu outside Metro Cebu but excluding Bantayan and Camotes Island, is P320.

Workers in Class C category, covering Bohol province, get P310 in minimum wage.

Those in Class D covering Siquijor and the islands of Bantayan and Camotes of Cebu receive P290 in minimum wage.

Sarcauga said they didn’t grant any increase to the other areas because their wages were higher compared to the other areas.

He cited the case of Siquijor, Camotes and Bantayan, where the workers have been getting P290 in minimum wage, higher than Butuan whose workers only get P268.

In Tagbilaran City, Bohol, workers there get P310 in minimum wage while those in Iloilo only get P298, according to Sarcauga.

“If you compare the degree of development and the comparable wages of these cities, you will notice Tagbilaran get more. The board did not cover these areas in view of the basis of comparable wages with other or equally situated areas in the country,” he said.

“We tried to come up with a rationalized adjustment taking into consideration other cities that are more or less proximate or not necessarily equally situated,” he added.

The adjustment in minimum wages in Metro Cebu earlier was barely 10 percent of the P145 in daily wage increase sought by the Cebu Labor Coalition.

Sarcauga said the P13 wage increase was meant enable workers recover from the erosion of their purchasing power from March of last year when the last increase was given.

“From March of last year, there was an erosion of our purchasing power. We, thereby, lost about P12 in the purchasing power of our level of wages,” Sarcauga said. The wage board official said the tripartite body should simply restore that by increasing the wage by the same level.

Other factors considered were the chances of employment generation if the board increased minimum wage outside Metro Cebu to bring investments to the countryside where wages were cheaper.

The approved wage increase will be forwarded to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) for approval.

Once approved, it will be sent back to Cebu where it will be published in local papers of general circulation.

The new wage order will take effect 15 days after publication.