BACOLOD CITY — The Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) leadership has expressed support for the latest wage order, saying the group recognizes the need to strengthen the minimum wage earners’ purchasing power through a wage increase.
“We need to help them grow and boost their purchasing power through wage adjustment, which is one opportunity to do so,” MBCCI chief executive officer Frank Carbon said Friday.
With this position, the business group said they will not file an appeal on or seek exemption from the implementation of the latest daily minimum wage increase in Western Visayas.
The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) 6 (Western Visayas) approved Wage Order No. 24 to increase the daily minimum wage of private sector workers in the region by PHP13.50 to PHP41.50, which includes the cost of living allowance.
Effective July 12, wage rates in Western Visayas already began to range from PHP295 to PHP365, up from the previous PHP271.50 to PHP323.50 under Wage Order No. 23.
Employers can file an exemption before RTWPB-6 within 10 days from the date of effectivity.
Carbon said that “for our economic growth to be inclusive, the working class should be strengthened. If we starve the workers, we will also starve.” The middle class comprises 70 percent to 80 percent of the entire population, he added.
Earlier, Department of Labor and Employment-6 Director Johnson Cañete said workers should report to the department or file a complaint if the increase is not yet reflected in their pay slips.
“Reports on non-compliance will be subjected to complaint visit and routine inspection,” said Cañete, who also chairs RTWPB-6.
For companies filing an appeal or seeking exemption, Cañete said the board will decide whether or not to grant it after studying the basis for the appeal.
Under the order’s Section 8, companies may seek exemptions from the implementation if they fall into three exceptional circumstances — if they are distressed, if they are new business enterprises, and if they are affected by calamities. ( Erwin Nicavera/PNA)
