Hearing on NCR wage hike bids set June 20

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma. Photo from DoLE

THE Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (NCR-RTWPB) will hold this week a public hearing on minimum wage adjustment for workers in the private sector to give due course to at least three wage hike petitions.

On Monday, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) announced that the RTWPB-NCR set the public hearing for June 20, Thursday, at the Occupational Safety and Health Center in Quezon City.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said that after the public hearing, the RTWPB will decide on the propriety of adjusting the minimum wage for the region.

Laguesma said other regional wage boards have also been directed to firm up their schedule of consultations and hearings, consistent with the President's directive and with the implementing rules and regulations issued by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC).

RTWPB-NCR received the petition for a minimum wage increase filed by the Unity for Wage Increase Now (UWIN) on May 24, 2024.

The labor group sought an increase of P597 in the daily minimum wage for workers in private establishments in Metro Manila.

The current daily minimum wage in the NCR is P610 for workers in the non-agriculture sector and P573 for workers in the agriculture sector, service/retail establishments employing 15 workers or less, and manufacturing establishments regularly employing less than 10 workers.

Employers, workers, employer associations and labor organizations are encouraged to participate in the public hearing.

They may submit position papers to RTWPB-NCR on the 2nd Floor, DY International Building, San Marcelino cor. General Malvar Streets., Malate Manila, or through email at [email protected] on or before June 18, 2024.

RTWPB-NCR published its notice of public hearing for minimum wage adjustment in a newspaper of general circulation on June 4, 2024. This is in accordance with Republic Act 6727 (Wage Rationalization Act), which provides that all RTWPBs must give notice to employee and employer groups, provincial, city and municipal officials, and other interested parties when conducting public hearings or consultations.

During the 2024 Labor Day celebration in Malacañang, the President instructed the RTWPBs to review minimum wage rates in their respective regions.

He also ordered NWPC to review its rules and ensure that RTWPBs maintain a regular and predictable schedule for wage review and issuance to reduce uncertainty and enhance fairness for all stakeholders.

Prior to the President's order, all 16 RTWPBs have already issued wage orders to increase the minimum wage from P30 to P89 per day.

The last round of minimum wage increases took effect between July last year in the NCR and February this year in Region 11, or the Davao Region.

Within the 12-month period from the effectivity of the wage order, no petition for wage increase may be entertained, except when there is a supervening condition, such as an extraordinary increase in the prices of petroleum products and basic goods and services.

Labor groups have been pushing for a legislated across-the-board wage increase for workers in the private sector.

The Senate has approved a P100 legislated wage increase, while the House of Representatives has yet to approve at the committee level its version of a P150 daily wage hike.