MANILA – Minimum wage earners in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will get an additional PHP20 in their salaries effective Feb. 28.
In a social media post on Wednesday, the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) reported that the minimum wage rates in BARMM will range from PHP316 to PHP361 in different sectors and industries.
The Bangsamoro Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board approved Wage Order No. BARMM-03 mandating the pay hike on Feb. 7.
The order covers non-agricultural workers employed in industry, manufacturing, construction, commerce, mining, and the academe while the agriculture sector also covers those working in non-plantation and retail.
The new wage order raises the minimum daily wage to PHP326 for agriculture workers and PHP336 for non-agriculture workers in the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Lamitan and Marawi.
On the other hand, the minimum wage for workers in Cotabato City will be PHP336 for the agriculture sector and PHP361 for the non-agriculture sector.
Meanwhile, the non-agricultural and agricultural sector employees in Special Geographic Area (SGA) are not covered by the wage hike as their salaries will remain at PHP341 and PHP316, respectively.
The SGA is the territory of the BARMM scattered in different municipalities of Cotabato province established through a plebiscite in 2019, carving out 63 barangays from the municipalities of Carmen, Kabacan, Pikit, Midsayap and Pigcawayan.
The last wage order in the region took effect on July 21, 2022. (PNA)
