Pay hike for private sector, 'kasambahay' in Region 9 starts Nov. 12
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Tuesday announced that the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) has issued wage increase orders for private sector workers and domestic workers or “kasambahay” effective November 12.
In Wage Order No. RIX-22 dated October 16, the board granted a P30 hike in the minimum wage of workers upon effectivity.
Meanwhile, the second tranche of wage hike amounting to P13 would be granted to retail and service establishments employing 10 to 30 workers effective February 1, 2024. The wage order is expected to directly benefit 56,848 minimum wage earners.
About 121,490 full-time wage and salary workers earning above the minimum wage may also indirectly benefit as a result of upward adjustments at the enterprise level arising from the correction of wage distortion.
The monthly wage rate for chartered cities and first-class municipalities in the region will now be P4,600 and P4,100 for other municipalities.
With the increase, the daily minimum wage is now at P381 for the non-agriculture sector and retail and service establishments with 31 or more workers and P368 for the agriculture sector.
It explained that the new rates for workers in the private sector translate to a nine to 13 percent increase from the prevailing daily minimum wage rates in the region and result in a comparable 23 percent increase in wage-related benefits covering 13th-month pay, service incentive leave (SIL), and social security benefits such as Social Security System (SSS), PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG.
The wage board also issued Wage Order No. RIX-DW-04, increasing the monthly minimum wage of kasambahays by P600, which is expected to benefit a total of 18,984 domestic workers – approximately 13 percent (2,491) of whom are on live-in arrangements, and 87 percent (16,493) are live-out.
The last wage orders for workers in private establishments and domestic workers in the region were both issued on June 1, 2022 and became effective on June 25, 2022.