Wage hike granted in 2024 benefits 5M workers in 14 regions

FILE PHOTO: Mall employees, tenants and agency hires queue to receive 5 kilos of rice and P 5,000 financial assistance during mall tour distribution of AKAP (Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita Program), initiated by House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and implemented by Department of Social Welfare and Development, at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. —RICHARD A. REYES

Close to five million workers in the private sector earning minimum wage will benefit from pay increases approved by 14 Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) in 2024.

Data from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) showed that 4,907,584 minimum wage earners have been granted daily wage increases ranging from P21 to P75.

The RTWPBs issued wage orders in the National Capital Region (NCR), Cordillera and Regions 1 (the Ilocos), 2 (Cagayan Valley), 3 (Central Luzon), 4-A (Calabarzon or Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) and 4-B (Mimaropa or Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan). Other areas granted wage adjustments were Regions 6 (Western Visayas), 7 (Central Visayas), 8 (Eastern Visayas), 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula), 10 (Northern Mindanao), 12 (Soccsksargen or South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos) and 13 (Caraga).

On June 27 last year, the RTWPB in NCR granted a P35 increase that benefited some four million workers. The order raised the minimum wage in Metro Manila to P610.

Northern Mindanao was the latest region to grant an increase—from P446 to P461 upon full implementation. This will be effective on Jan. 12 while the second tranche will start on July 1.

The RTWPBs in Bicol and Davao have yet to issue wage orders.