MANILA — The PHP21 hike in the minimum wage of private sector workers in Metro Manila will take effect starting Thursday, Oct. 5, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) said.
In Wage Order No. RB NCR-21, the board approved the adjustment in the daily wage of minimum wage for the non-agricultural workers to PHP512 from PHP491.
On the other hand, workers in the agriculture, retail/service establishments employing 15 workers or less, and manufacturing establishments regularly employing less than 10 workers will receive a new minimum wage rate of PHP475.
The board noted that the implementation of the minimum wage hike in the region was arrived at with inputs from the various stakeholders from the workers and employers’ group and the government during the consultations and public hearings.
RTWPB-NCR considered the various criteria in setting the minimum wage under Republic Act 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act.
Domestic workers, persons in the personal service of another, and workers of duly registered Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) with Certificate of Authority are not covered by the new wage order.
Wage Order No. NCR-21 also states that all workers paid by result, including those who are paid on piecework, “takay”, “pakyaw”, or per task basis, shall be entitled to receive the prescribed minimum wage per eight hours of work per day, or a proportion thereof for working less than eight hours.
Also, the new wage order allowed exemption only for distressed establishments, retail/service establishments regularly employing not more than 10 workers, and establishments adversely affected by calamities such as natural and human-induced disasters.
Meanwhile, the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), petitioner of the wage increase said that more than 5 million minimum-waged workers from Metro Manila and workers from Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Batangas working in the metropolis will benefit from the wage hike. (PNA)
