LABOR INSPECTION. The Department of Labor and Employment regional office in Tacloban City with key regional staff. The agency is stepping up its inspection of private establishments in Eastern Visayas to check their compliance with the new wage order. (DOLE photo)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) intensified its inspection of private establishments in Eastern Visayas to check their compliance with the new wage order.
The 17 DOLE inspectors from the regional office and six provincial offices have been visiting workplaces to see if employers are paying the right compensation, said DOLE Eastern Visayas regional director Dax Villaruel in a press briefing Wednesday.
Villaruel, the chair of the seven-member Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB), said that although the new wage order took effect on November 30, 2023, there was no monitoring in December due to the Christmas season.
“We intend to inspect all establishments but we prioritize those with complaints. Anyone can send us a message through text or social media. We assure complainants that we will not leak their personal information,” Villaruel told reporters.
Under Wage Order No. 23, approved on November 6, 2023, minimum wage earners are entitled to a PHP30 increase in their daily pay.
From a minimum daily pay of PHP375 under the old wage order, employers in the non-agriculture sector, including sugar mills, are directed to pay a PHP405 daily wage to each worker under the new order.
The board ruled to increase the pay for those employed in retail services (with 11 workers and above) to PHP405 from PHP375. For workers in smaller retail businesses (with ten employees and below), the new minimum daily pay is PHP375 from PHP345.
Those employers in the farm, cottage, and handicraft industries are entitled to a daily pay of PHP375.
“The wage increase applies to all minimum wage earners in the private sector within the region, regardless of their position, designation, or status, and irrespective of the method by which their wages are paid,” Villaruel added.
The RTWPB also reminded employers of the increase in monthly pay for domestic workers from PHP5,000 to PHP5,500 in chartered cities and first-class municipalities.
Domestic workers in other municipalities are entitled to PHP5,000 monthly, up from PHP4,500 under the previous order.
Domestic workers include house helpers, babysitters, cooks, gardeners, laundry people, and anyone who regularly performs domestic duties in one household on an occupational basis. (PNA)
