The P31 increase is the highest that has been granted in the region so far.
With the increase, the new daily minimum wage rate will rise from P404 to P435 in Class A areas. The new minimum wage in Class B areas will increase to P397, while from P356, the new minimum wage in Class C areas will rise to P387.
The new rates will be submitted to the National Wages Productivity Commission and will take effect five days after its publication in newspapers.
One of the biggest groups in Metro Cebu expressed concern over the impending wage increase.
Steven Yu, president of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), said micro and small businesses will bear the brunt of the new minimum wage rate.
Yu added that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will be facing a “longer and delayed” journey to full recovery and may even suffer downsizing and closures.
“The business sector fully empathizes with the plight of the labor community due to the soaring costs of living, however, the MSMEs will experience increasing hardships and delayed recovery. We foresee downsizing and business closures in the MSME sector,” Yu explained.
Yu added that new wage rate may also cause a slowdown in job generation, adding that businesses are still trying to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine conflict, and recent calamities.
The approval of the new wage rate came after months-long public consultations and hearings on the various wage hike petitions filed before RTWB.