BARMM workers get P50 daily wage hike

PAY BOOST Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua (second from left) and Labor Minister Muslimin Sema, who chairs the Bangsamoro Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, on Friday lead the signing of a new wage order for private workers in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). —PHOTO COURTESY OF Ministry of Labor and Employment-BARMM

COTABATO CITY—Private sector workers in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will receive P50 in daily wage increase beginning next month, labor officials in the region said on Friday.

This is after the BARMM government, through the Bangsamoro Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board under the Ministry of Labor and Employment (BTWPB-Mole), approved Wage Order No. BARMM-04 on June 26.

The new order, local officials said, is the result of public consultations, socioeconomic assessments and deliberations conducted by the BTWPB as part of efforts to determine if wage adjustments are needed amid current economic conditions.

Private workers in the region received a pay increase of P20 last year through Wage Order No. BARMM-03.

BARMM Labor Minister Muslimin Sema, who chairs BTWPB, said the wage increase would take effect 15 days after its publication in a newspaper of regional circulation and would be enforced throughout the BARMM, except for those exempted under existing laws such as domestic workers and those employed by registered microenterprises.

Rising cost of living

Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, together with BTWPB members, signed the new wage order during ceremonies held at Mole-BARMM regional office here.

Sema said the increase was a response to the rising cost of living, inflationary pressures, and continued calls from workers’ groups for a more livable wage.

In Cotabato City, the minimum daily wage for nonagricultural workers will increase from P361 to P411, while workers in the agricultural sector, including those in plantation, nonplantation and retail, will receive P386, up from P336.

Sema said that in Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur and Marawi City, Basilan and Lamitan City, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, the new minimum wage for nonagricultural workers would be P386, from the current P336.

For the agricultural sector workers in these areas, the minimum wage will increase from P326 to P376 per day.

For workers in the newly created Special Geographic Area (SGA), the minimum wage for nonagricultural workers will increase from P341 to P391, while those in the agricultural and retail sectors will receive a daily pay of P366, up from P316.

The towns Old Kaabakan, Pahamuddin, Kadayangan, Kapalawan, Ligawasan, Malidegao, Nabalawag and Tugunan comprise the SGA. These areas were created from 63 villages of Cotabato province that joined BARMM.

Historic

“This P50 increase in the daily minimum wage is historic not only because of its scale, but also because it reflects a deep understanding of the needs of our workers while considering the realities faced by our employers,” Macacua said.

Sema said the signing of the new wage order was a reflection of the gains of the peace process.

“This is how the Bangsamoro government is looking into the condition of each constituent and its assets, its capability to develop as a region, as a government—as aspired to by our people through the leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front which have come into terms with the national government in establishing peace in Mindanao,” Sema told reporters.

Aside from Sema, the BTWPB is also composed of Minister Abuamri Taddik of the Ministry of Trade, Investments, and Tourism as vice chair; Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority Director General Mohajirin Ali; management sector representative Datu Haron Bandila; and workers’ representatives Jonathan Acosta and Norlyn Odin.