DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 27 February) — The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB)-Davao will implement new minimum wage in the region next month, adjusting the pay rates for non-agricultural and agricultural workers, as well as domestic workers.
Based on the new wage order, issued on February 19 but published on February 25, the wage rate for non-agricultural workers will increase by ₱30, and by ₱20 for agricultural workers.
The adjustments, however, will be implemented in two tranches, beginning on March 13, upon the order’s effectivity, while the second will be enforced on September 21 this year.
Once the order takes effect, non-agricultural workers will receive a ₱15 increase in their daily minimum wage, while agricultural workers will get a ₱10 increase, raising daily wages to P525 and P515, respectively.
For the second tranche, the daily minimum wage will be adjusted to ₱540 for non-agricultural workers and ₱525 for agricultural workers, reflecting increases of ₱15 and ₱10, respectively.
Meanwhile, the monthly pay rates of domestic workers, which will also take effect on March 13, will be increased by ₱500 for those employed in chartered cities and first-class municipalities in the region, and ₱1,500 for those in other municipalities, setting a uniform monthly rate of ₱6,500.
In a statement sent to MindaNews on Thursday, Jeffry Uypala, spokesperson of the Kilusang Mayo Uno-Southern Mindanao, called the adjustment in the minimum wage an “insult” to the workers, saying that ₱525 and ₱540 daily wage rates are far from a “livable amount.”
“If you really think about it, this is just loose change compared to the high cost of basic goods and services. The wage board is detached from reality and from our true situation as workers,” Uypala said.
He said the imposition of such dismal adjustments only serves to protect the interests and profits of big businesses and corporations.
The ordinary worker, he said, remains impoverished, while the capitalists grow even richer.
“Beyond the said wage hike, we maintain and reiterate our position that workers’ wages should be significantly increased. We specifically call for instituting a national minimum wage based on the recommended family living wage pegged at approximately ₱1,200 per day and the abolition of regional wage boards,” he said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
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