PAY DISCUSSIONS. Members of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, employers, and workers take a photo together after a consultation on wage issue in Naval, Biliran on June 17, 2019. Consultations in different provinces are still ongoing to find out if there’s a need to adjust the current wage structure for private sector workers in Eastern Visayas. (Photo courtesy of RTWPB)
TACLOBAN CITY -- Consultation is ongoing to find out if there is a need to adjust the current wage structure for private sector workers in Eastern Visayas.
After consultations in Ormoc City for the Western Leyte area, Maasin City for Southern Leyte province and in Naval, Biliran, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) will meet with workers and employers in the Samar provinces early July.
The next series of public consultations are slated to be held in Calbayog City, Samar on July 1; Catarman, Northern Samar on July 2; and Borongan City, Eastern Samar on July 5.
The public consultation also aims to update workers on the state of the region’s economy, RTWPB Chairman and Department of Labor and Employment 8 (Eastern Visayas) Director Yahya Centi said in an interview on Friday.
Centi added that the board initiated the wage review in different areas by “motu proprio” starting April since there is no petition from workers to adjust the daily compensation.
Under the law, the wage body is mandated to review the wage order one year after it took effect. Wage Order 20 has been implemented since June 25.
“We cannot tell yet as of now, but maybe, depending on the results of the consultations, our workers here in Eastern Visayas may get a wage increase this year,” Centi told reporters.
Wage Order 20, signed on May 7, 2018 and took effect on June 25 the same year, raised the daily pay of minimum wage earners in Eastern Visayas from PHP20 to PHP30. The adjustments vary depending on the nature of the industry and the number of workers.
Workers in the non-agriculture sector, including sugar mills, are entitled to a PHP305 daily wage. Those employed in the retail services (with 11 up to 30 workers) earn PHP305 daily. For workers in smaller retail businesses (with 10 employees or less), the minimum daily pay is PHP275.
Those employed in cottage and handicraft industries receive daily pay of PHP275. Laborers in the farming sector have a daily pay of PHP275.
The regional board in Eastern Visayas is a tripartite body composed of six members -- three representatives of the government, two from the workers' sector, and one from the employers' sector. (PNA)
