By Brian Campued
The P50 increase in the daily minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR) is expected to benefit around 1.2 million workers in the private sector once it takes effect on July 18, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced Monday.
Unanimously approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB), DOLE Sec. Bienvenido Laguesma said the wage hike is the “highest ever granted” by the regional wage board.
Between 2023 and 2025, the daily minimum wage rate for private sector workers in NCR has increased by a total of P125.
According to the RTWPB’s Wage Order No. 26, the P50 hike will bring the daily minimum wage rate in Metro Manila from P645 to P695 for the non-agriculture sector.
Meanwhile, the daily salaries of those working in the agriculture sector, service, and retail establishments employing 15 or less workers, and manufacturing establishments regularly employing less than 10 workers will increase from P608 to P658.
According to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), the wage hike is equivalent to an increase of P1,100 per month for a five-day workweek, and P1,300 for a six-day workweek.
“Under the new rate, non-agriculture workers will have a monthly take-home pay of about P15,247 to P18,216 for a five-day and six-day workweek, respectively, inclusive of mandatory social welfare benefits such as 13th month pay, service incentive leave, SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG,” the DOLE stated.
The issuance of the new wage order is pursuant to the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on the timely and regular review of regional minimum wage rates to reduce uncertainty, enhance for all stakeholders, and foster a stronger link between productivity and wages, Laguesma stressed.
He explained that wage boards must balance protection of workers from unduly low pay with profitability of businesses while promoting employment and productivity and preventing inflation.
In a statement, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada welcomed the P50 daily minimum wage hike in NCR but admitted that the current minimum wage nationwide is not enough to sustain even a small family’s daily needs.
“Kung bibigyan natin sila ng pandagdag sa araw-araw na gastusin, bigyan naman natin sila ng halaga na mararamdaman nila ang paggaan ng kanilang pinansyal na pasanin,”Estrada said, reiterating his call for a P100 daily pay hike that will benefit around 4.2 million wage earners nationwide.
“That is why I will be re-filing this 20th Congress the bill on the proposed P100 legislated wage increase, which was passed by the Senate on third and final reading in the 19th Congress,” the senator added.
In a press briefing on June 5, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said that Marcos wanted a careful and thorough study of the potential economic implications of a proposed P200 wage hike for private sector workers approved by the House of Representatives on June 4.
The proposed wage hike, however, hit a snag after the 19th Congress adjourned without a reconciled version from both the Senate and the House of Representatives, as the Upper Chamber approved only a P100 daily minimum wage hike.
-jpv
