BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – A “collective victory” of workers in Western Visayas was how labor advocate Wennie Sancho regarded the recent wage increase approval.
It will cover for the spike in the prices of basic commodities, he stressed.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) earlier approved an increase in the suggested retail price (SRP) of 82 prime commodities.
Among these commodities were bread, canned food, processed milk, instant noodles, coffee, and certain toiletry and cleaning items.
The National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) approved Wage Order No. RBVI-26 which set the daily minimum pay of P450 for non-agricultural, industrial, and commercial workers in establishments which employ more than 10 people.
This is an increase of P55 compared to the present P395 daily minimum pay.
Also, establishments in this sector employing 10 or less people must observe a daily minimum pay of P420 – or P110 more compared to the present P310 minimum salary.
Workers in the agriculture sector, on the other hand, will have a minimum pay of P410 or P95 more compared to the current P315, while house helpers will have a minimum pay of P4,500, an increase of P500 from the current P4,000.
Sancho said the new minimum wage will take effect on June 5.
Earlier, the head of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) voiced opposition to the wage increase pointing out that the business sector is still recovering from the adverse financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic./PN
