Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Caraga wage hike OK’d

MANILA, Philippines — Minimum wage earners in three more regions in the country will receive an increase in their daily take-home pay, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

Rolly Francia, DOLE Information and Publication Service director, said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and Caraga granted petitions for salary hike.

In Ilocos Region, the wage board approved daily wage increases ranging from P60 to P90 to be given in tranches. Francia said this means the minimum wage in Ilocos will range from P372 to P400 from the current P282 to P340.

He said the wage board also granted an increase of P500 to P1,500 in the monthly salary of house helpers in the region.

Domestic helpers in cities and first class municipalities will receive a minimum salary of P5,000 while those in other municipalities will receive P4,000.

DOLE regional office director Evelyn Ramos said both management and the labor sectors are amenable to the wage increase, which was described as ”substantial.”

Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan and La Union comprise the Ilocos Region.

In Cagayan Valley, Francia said the regional wage board approved pay hikes ranging from P50 to P75 to be given in two to three tranches. This will increase the daily take-home pay of workers in the region from P345 to P370 to P400 to P420.

Workers in Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino as well as the cities of Cauayan, Ilagan, Santiago and Tuguegarao are covered by the wage order.

In Caraga, the regional wage board ordered the integration of the cost-of-living allowance worth P15 into the minimum salary of P305 and granted an increase of P30. This will bring the daily take-home pay to P350.

The wage order covers workers in Butuan City and the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur.

For workers in Dinagat Islands and Surigao del Norte, including Siargao Islands, a wage increase of P20 will be initially implemented once the wage order takes effect. The remainder of the pay hike shall take effect on Sept. 1.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello lauded the wage boards for heeding his call to expedite the review and grant of pay increases.

The wage board in Metro Manila had earlier granted an increase of P33 in the daily pay of minimum wage earners while the Western Visayas wage board granted an increase ranging from P55 to P110.

The wage orders were affirmed by the National Wages and Productivity Commission, and will take effect on June 4 in Metro Manila and June 5 in Western Visayas. – Eva Visperas