Source: nwpc.dole.gov.ph
P20.
This is the adjustment in the minimum wage that private sector workers in Metro Cebu will get to help them cope with the rising costs of basic
commodities.
But for those workers outside Metro Cebu or the rest of Cebu province, Bohol, Siquijor and Negros Oriental, the increase will only be P15.
The amount was way below the demand of the labor sector which had initially asked for a P74-adjustment.
The decision to adjust the minimum daily pay of workers stemmed from a four-part deliberation conducted by the members of the Regional
Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Central Visayas (RTWPB-7) on May 16, May 22, June 7 and June 11.
After the final deliberation on Monday, Alvin Villamor, Department of Labor and Employment in Central Visayas (DOLE-7) director and wage board chair, announced that they had agreed to adjust the minimum wage but not at the amount demanded by the labor sector.
For Metro Cebu, private sector workers would get an increase of P20, bringing the minimum wage to P386 from P366.
But areas outside Metro Cebu, the wage board agreed to grant a P15-increase.
Villamor said the wage board agreed to retain the areas of classification which were defined by the wage order approved in 2017. (See table)
He explained that the amount was based on the capacity of the business sector to absorb the increase without having to retrench workers.
“It was a product of the meeting of the minds. They need to do their jobs and protect each other’s sector,” said Villamor.
Based on the new wage order, those classified under Class A — cities and municipalities within Metro Cebu — will have a minimum wage of P386.
Workers under Class B or those in the cities of Toledo and Bogo, and other towns in Cebu province except Bantayan and Camotes islands, the minimum wage will be pegged at P348 from P333.
The provinces of Bohol and Negros Oriental, which are under Class C will get a minimum wage of P338 from P323 while Siquijor and the Bantayan and Camotes islands, which are under Class D, the minimum wage will be raised to P323 from P308.
The new wage order will be forwarded to the National Wages and Productivity Council (NWPC) in Manila for review.
Once approved, an official wage order would be issued and then published in local dailies.
The new rates will take effect 15 days after publication.
Arriving at a consensus however, was never easy for representatives of the government, labor and employer sectors which comprised the wage board.
Lawyer Ernesto Carreon, one of the two labor sector representatives in the wage board, said the first day of deliberation on May 16 was filled with arguments.
Carreon said he pushed for a P72-wage hike while Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) Chair Jose Tomongha, another labor representative in the wage board, wanted an increase of P75.
But they didn’t get the support from other wage board members, forcing Carreon and Tomongha to lower their demand to P34 and later to P24.
According to Villamor, the business sector only wanted an increase of P13 to P15 for workers in Metro Cebu.
He said he then intervened and proposed a compromise of P20, which was agreed in principle during the June 6 deliberation.
But when the minutes were read during Monday’s deliberation, other wage board members wanted to further discuss on how much the pay hike would be, prompting Carreon to threaten to walk out.
Phillip Tan, employer sector representative, said they needed to check first the capacity of the management to pay.
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