A pay hike of up to P28 will greet minimum wage earners with non-agriculture-related jobs in Bohol and the rest of Central Visayas as the New Year starts.
According to Department of Labor and Employment 7 director Roy Buenafe, the pay hike for private sector workers will take effect on January 5, 2020 after the publication of Wage Order No. ROVII-22 in a major daily newspaper in the region on December 21, 2019.
The publication came after the National Wages and Productivity Commission approved the wage increase earlier this month.
“As a result of the periodic and continuous review of socioeconomic conditions in the region and taking into consideration the issues raised during the public hearings and the position papers submitted by concerned stakeholders, the Board agreed to increase the existing minimum wage rates in Central Visayas,” read Wage Order 22 which was issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-Region (RTWPB) 7.
Wage Order 22 however indicated that only workers in Tagbilaran City will be getting a P-28 daily wage hike as the approved P-18 pay increase will take effect in municipalities of the province, said Buenafe.
Minimum daily wage for non-agriculture workers in Tagbilaran City and in municipalities will increase from P338 to P366 and P356, respectively.
RTWPB 7 secretary Grace Carreon clarified that Tagbilaran City was reclassified under Class B areas through Wage Order 22 causing the wage hike for the city to increase from P18 to P28.
Tagbilaran City used to be classified under Class C areas along with the rest of Bohol.
According to Carreon, all Central Visayas cities outside of Metro Cebu were reclassified under Class B while all cities in Metro Cebu were classified as Class A areas.
It was indicated in the wage order that the RTWPB 7 looked into the geographic classification of wages during its review. The board also decided to trim the number of classes to three from four, abolishing the Class D classification.
In September and October, RTWPB 7 conducted a series of public consultations in key areas in the region including Tagbilaran City, Cebu City, Bogo City, Dumaguete City and Siquijor.
These were intended to get public sentiments on wage proposals made by labor groups and determine the pay hike’s feasibility in the region. (Allen Doydora)