(UPDATED) Wage Order No. 22 will take effect 15 days after publication in a newspaper, but labor groups say the increase won’t help workers struggling with rising inflation
Aika Rey @reyaika
Published 12:50 PM, November 05, 2018
Updated 9:46 PM, November 05, 2018
SEEKING WORK. Hundreds troop to the Quezon City Hall for a job fair on May 1, 2018. File photo by Darren Langit/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Monday, November 5, confirmed the P25 across-the-board wage hike for minimum wage earners in Metro Manila.
New minimum wage rates for agricultural workers, firms in the manufacturing sector with at most 10 workers, and firms in the retail as well as service sectors with at most 15 workers will earn at least P500 daily, from the previous P475.
Non-agricultural workers, meanwhile, will soon have a daily minimum wage of P537 from P512.
Under Wage Order No. 22, the P10 cost of living allowance (COLA) will also become part of the basic pay.
Previously, the minimum basic pay ranged from P465 to P502, with an additional P10 COLA.
National Wages and Productivity Commission Executive Director Criselda Sy explained that the integration of COLA in the basic pay means bigger computations for overtime pay and 13th month pay.
The new wage order will be effective 15 days from publication in a newspaper. Sy said a copy of the order will be sent to their office on Monday afternoon.
The order was signed by DOLE, the Department of Trade and Industry, National Economic and Development Authority, and an employers’ group representative. Labor group representatives signed the order, but with reservations.
The wage order can still be appealed within 10 days upon publication. But Sy said there were no appeals that had been successfully granted in the past.
Higher inflation?
Asked whether the regional board could have approved a higher increase, Sy explained that doing so might lead to “secondary inflationary effects.”
