Council approves P35 NCR wage increase

By means of Chloe Mari A. Hufana

THE REGIONAL Tripartite Wages and the Productivity Board (RTWPB) has approved a P35 minimum wage increase for employees in the NaNational Capital Region (NCR), which eFon July 17.

Under Wage Decree No. NCR-25, the minimum daily wage for non-agricultural workers in the region will be increased to P645.

For agricultural and service/retail workers with 15 employees or less, the daily wage will increase from P573 to P608.

Workers in manufacturing companies that regularly employ fewer than 10 people will also receive a minimum daily wage of P608.

The RTWPB-NCR approved the order on June 27, but a copy was not released until Monday.

“The pay order is at eFfect after 15 days of its issuance, or on July 17, 2024, which is exactly one day after the anniversary of the previous wage order,” the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said in a statement.

On July 16, 2023, a P40 minimum wage increase was implemented in NCR.

The DoLE said the new wage rates are about 5.7% higher than the prevailing daily minimum wages in the region.

“(The new rates) remain above the latest regional poverty line for a family of Five. These also result in a comparable increase in the wage-related benefit of 5%Fits upholstery 13^e monthly salary, service incentive leave and social security benefitFbe,” it said.

The wage order will directly impact 988,243 minimum wage earners in the Capital Region, DoLE said.

About 1.7 million full-time workers earning above the minimum wage “can also benefit indirectlyFThis is due to upward adjustments at the firm level resulting from the correction of wage distortion,” it added.

Retail and service companies with no more than 10 permanent employees and companiesFaffected by natural disasters or disasters can apply for an exemption from the wage increase. Barangay Micro Business Enterprise is also not covered by the minimum wage law.

Employers’ Federation of the Philippines (ECoP) Governor Arturo “Butch” C. Guerrero III said Business via iMessage that the P35 wage increase is a “relief” for employers.

“This is a relief compared to the P750 per day wage increase that the labor groups recommended to the wage board, and to the P150 per day on top of the wage increase. [Senator Juan Miguel F.] Zubiri’s legislated pay increase in the Senate,” he said.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Chairman George T. Barcelon, in a telephone conversation with Business said the P35 pay increase is “very reasonable.”

“[A] An increase of P35 per day is a win-win situation [because] this is more affordable for the micro, small and medium enterprises so that small businesses can continue to do business,” he said. “At the same time, this also indirectly mitigatesFlation.”

The Philippines faces persistent inflation as food, transportation and utility costs continue to rise.

Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., warned of second-round inflation effects from the wage hike.

“Some increase in inflation due to higher prices of affected goods or services, or the so-called second round inflation effects, as wage growth is around +5.7%, which could [be] is being passed on by some companies and industries in terms of higher prices for their products to a similar extent to reflect the increase in labor, production and input costs,” he said in a Viber message to Business.

However, he noted that some companies could absorb the higher costs, resulting in smaller benefitsFit margins.

Mr Ricafort said the P35 wage increase would still “somewhat help” workers cope with the expenditure.

However, labor groups were not happy with the RTWPB-NCR order, saying it was not enough to help workers cope with the rising cost of living.

“The P35 wage increase in Metro Manila is not only inadequate but also appears to be a tactic to distract workers from their escalating push for a P150 daily wage increase through legislation,” said Federation President Jose Sonny G. Matula of Free Workers in a statement.

“However, this highly inadequate increase will only strengthen our determination to pursue a statutory wage increase. The current economic conditions require a comprehensive solution that addresses the problems Ffinancial realities facing workers across the country,” he added.

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Vice President Luis Manuel C. Corral said in a statement that the NCR wage board “has chosen to protect corporate benefitsFrather than the larger social goal of wage growth.”

“As TUCP has repeatedly emphasized, it is necessary to raise the daily wage above the poverty line to support a family FIt is inextricably linked to addressing the growing problem of Filipino children being left behind due to persistent poverty and inequality.”

The National Wage Coalition, which had sought a wage increase of not less than P150, said the P35 wage increase shows a “callous disregard for the economic crises facing our workers and families.”

“Our minimum wages are not living wages… The increase in the P35 does not even amount to meager changes; it is not even enough for one kilo of rice,” it said in a statement.

The NCR Wage Board had received several wage requests from labor groups ranging from P597 to P750.

Unity for Wage Increase Now sought a P597 increase in daily wages, while four hospital employee associations and the Pasig Labor Alliance for Democracy and Development sought a P750 increase.

In February, the Senate approved the third and FUltimately, a P100 across-the-board minimum wage increase for private sector workers will be set. The House of Representatives has not yet passed similar legislation.