Iloilo City, Iloilo (PIA) — Minimum wage earners in Western Visayas can expect a P10 increase in their salaries soon after the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Western Visayas (RTWPB -6) approved on October 30 a new wage order granting a P10 adjustment in the salaries of floor wage or minimum wage earners in the private sector in the region.
Under RTWPB-6 Wage Order No. 21, workers employed in non-agriculture, industrial and commercial establishments employing more than 10 workers will receive P287 while those employed in establishments employing 10 workers and below will receive P245.
In the agriculture sector, the minimum wage for plantation workers will now be P255 and P245 for non-plantation workers in the sector.
The new wage rates will take effect 15 days after its publication in local newspapers of general circulation.
Director Ponciano Ligutom of the Department of Labor and Employment in Region VI (DOLE-6), who is also RTWPB-6 chairman said that the Wage Board was unanimous in its decision to adjust the minimum wage rates of workers in the region after considering various conditions that warrant the increase in workers’ wages this year.
Among such considerations cited are the impending imposition of the Value Added Tax (VAT) in raw sugar, the number of establishments and workers covered in the different industries, the competitiveness of the region, the needs of the workers, and the capacity of employers to pay.
“Majority of workers covered by this new wage rates are those employed in micro enterprises. It must be noted that 90 per cent of establishments in the region are in this category,” said Ligutom.
The Wage Board is also strongly encouraging employers who can afford to pay more to seriously consider implementing the productivity-based pay (PBP) scheme which will provide additional compensation to workers based on their productivity.
DOLE-6 said the Board will deliberate in its next meeting the issuance of advisories on this scheme which is expected to be out late this year or early next year. It will cover industries or sectors that are considered as key employment generators such as sugar, business process outsourcing and tourism industries, the academe and retail service.

Source: Manila Bulletin - November 5, 2013