ILOILO City – A possible increase in minimum wages is moving closer to deliberation as the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) has scheduled a series of public hearings in October to determine whether workers across Western Visayas and the Negros Island Region (NIR) need another adjustment in their minimum pay.
The consultations will put workers’ declining purchasing power and rising living costs against the capacity of businesses, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to absorb higher labor costs while preserving jobs.
Four blended public hearings will be conducted throughout October, bringing together labor groups, employers, sugar industry stakeholders and domestic workers whose positions will help shape the region’s next minimum wage order.
Stakeholders from Iloilo, Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras and Negros Occidental may submit position papers and give oral testimonies either in person or virtually.
The first hearing will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 6 at Citadines Bacolod City for workers in private establishments and representatives of labor and management in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.
A separate consultation for workers in the sugar industry, sugarcane planters and farm workers from Panay and Negros Occidental will follow from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 7 at the same venue.
For Iloilo, Antique and Guimaras, the hearing for workers in private establishments and labor and management representatives will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 9 at Sam’s 21 Hotel in Iloilo City.
A separate hearing for domestic workers will be conducted at the same venue from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. that day.
The final scheduled hearing will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 20 at Casa Pilar Beach Resort in Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, covering workers and employers from Aklan and Capiz.
The RTWPB-VI will examine regional inflation, movements in the consumer price index and the basic cost of living necessary to maintain workers’ health and productivity as it evaluates whether wage rates should be adjusted.
The board will also consider sector-specific conditions, particularly those affecting the sugar industry and domestic workers.
Another major consideration will be the capacity of enterprises to shoulder any adjustment. The wage board will assess business viability, particularly among MSMEs, as it seeks to balance decent wages with employment preservation.
Representatives of labor unions, business chambers and agricultural associations, as well as private citizens, may participate in the hearings and submit position papers.
The confirmation deadline for the Oct. 6 and 7 Bacolod hearings is Oct. 2, while participants in the Oct. 9 Iloilo hearings must confirm by Oct. 6. Registration for the Oct. 20 Boracay hearing closes Oct. 16.
Position papers may also be submitted to RTWPB-VI from Sept. 21 to Oct. 5, 2026.
The October consultations form part of the wage-setting process in which the board weighs workers’ need for adequate income against economic conditions and employers’ capacity to sustain higher labor costs before issuing a new wage order./PN
