Minimum wage earners in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are set to receive an additional P50 in their daily pay after the Bangsamoro Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (BTWPB) granted the daily minimum wage increase for private sector workers across the region.
Minimum Wage Order No. BARMM-05 was signed on Wednesday at the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE) Regional Office, Bangsamoro Government Center.
It will be implemented in two tranches of P25 each — the first upon the effectivity of the Wage Order in August, and the second on Dec. 1.
Under the new wage rates, workers in the non-agriculture sector in Cotabato City will receive a daily minimum wage of P436 upon the first tranche, increasing to P461 beginning Dec. 1.
Those in the agriculture and retail sectors in the same area will receive P411 for the first tranche and to P436 after the second tranche.
Workers in Lamitan and Marawi cities will now receive the same minimum wage rates as those in Cotabato City after the Board ratified a resolution regrouping the three BARMM cities into a single wage cluster, citing comparable living standards.
In a separate resolution, the Board also grouped the Special Geographic Area with the provinces of Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi under another wage cluster.
The wage increase covers all minimum wage earners in the private sector, regardless of employment status or method of wage payment.
It excludes household workers covered under the Batas Kasambahay, registered Barangay Micro Business Enterprises with valid Certificates of Authority, and other workers exempted by law.
Issued pursuant to the Wage Rationalization Act (Republic Act 6727) and Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 13, Wage Order No. BARMM-05 shall take effect 15 days after its publication in the Bangsamoro Gazette or in a newspaper of regional circulation within BARMM. (PNA)