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Eastern Visayas wage board awaits pay hike approval

By Sarwell Meniano

June 8, 2022, 3:07 pm

<p><strong>PAY HIKE</strong>. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) regional office in Tacloban City. The office, which chairs the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) has submitted pay adjustment recommendations to the National Wages and Productivity Commission. <em>(Photo courtesy of DOLE Region 8)</em></p>

PAY HIKE. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) regional office in Tacloban City. The office, which chairs the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) has submitted pay adjustment recommendations to the National Wages and Productivity Commission. (Photo courtesy of DOLE Region 8)

TACLOBAN CITY – The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) has already decided on the proposed pay adjustment for private workers in Eastern Visayas but still waiting for approval from the National Wages and Productivity Commission, an official has said.

The regional board had its final deliberation on Monday night and came up with recommendations taking into consideration the suggestions of employers and workers, according to Norma Rae Costimiano, regional information officer of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), in a phone interview on Tuesday.

DOLE chairs the RTWPB, a tripartite body composed of six members -- three representatives from the government, two from the workers' sector, and one from the employers' sector.

“The recommendation was already forwarded to the NWPC for review. We must wait for their response before we can disseminate anything to the public. Hopefully, the commission will act immediately,” Costimiano said in a text message on Wednesday.

However, the official did not divulge the recommended amount for wage hikes.

On April 22, the RTWPB held the first public hearing in Macrohon, Southern Leyte followed by the same activity on April 27 in Ormoc City for northwest Leyte areas.

From May 16 to 23, similar gatherings were held in Borongan City for Eastern Samar province, Calbayog City for Samar, Catarman town for Northern Samar, and Tacloban City for the northern Leyte area.

The review is in response to the petition for adjustment of the daily minimum wage of workers in the private sector filed by the Solidarity of Unions in the Philippines for Empowerment and Reforms to raise the daily wage to PHP750.

The current minimum daily pay in the region is PHP325 under Wage Order No. 21 issued in August 2019.

Fulfilling Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III’s directive to review existing minimum wage rates nationwide, 14 regional wage boards have already issued their respective wage orders granting pay hikes ranging between PHP30 and PHP110. (PNA)

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