Wage Board sets new wage hike for Region 2

Starting May 16, 2012, minimum wage earners in Cagayan Valley will receive an increase of P10.00 in their basic pay under Wage Order No. RTWPB-II-15 issued by the Regional Wage Board, Region II.

In addition, they stand to benefit further with the integration to their basic pay of the P15.00 Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) granted in 2005 under Wage Order No. RTWPB-II-10.

The minimum wage rates in the region now ranged from P212-P255.  For the non-agriculture sector, the wage rates are as follows:

With the COLA integration, covered workers will get as much as 19% increase in the computation of wage-related benefits such as overtime pay, premium pay, night shift differential and 13th month pay, which are all computed based on the basic pay.

For instance, a worker in Isabela province receiving the previous basic pay of P230 will now have P255 as basis for computing said benefits.

Regional Wage Board Chairman, Dir. Sixto T. Rodriguez Jr. said that the members of the Board unanimously agreed to grant the wage adjustment after considering the continuous increasein prices of basic goods and services in the region.

He also said that the wage hike was granted by the Wage Board motu proprio (“own its own initiative”) one year after effectivity of the previous wage order, without waiting for the filing of a petition for wage increase by concerned parties.

However, the following categories of establishments may apply for exemption from the new wage increase:  distressed establishments, new business enterprises, retail/service establishments employing not more than 10 workers and establishments adversely affected by natural calamities.

As in previous Wage Orders, domestic/household helpers as well as individuals in the personal service of others (i.e family drivers) and duly recognized workers of Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) are not covered.

Updated: May 16, 2012

Labor Day centers on job, productivity

Graduates and job-seekers yesterday at the World Trade Center grabbed not only jobs but also a chance to be productive workers as NWPC bared its prime programs in lifting labor and industry competitiveness.

Putting productivity on the lead, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz instructed NWPC to offer jobseekers and participating companies its programs such as Learning Session, Facility Evaluation, Time and Motion Study, 5S of Good Housekeeping, ISTIV, Service Quality, and Green Productivity among others. NWPC also promoted its biennial competition for successful MSMEs dubbed as ‘Productivity Olympics’.

NWPC officers posted at the booth also entertained walk-in queries on minimum wages and other labor-related issues. The latest wage orders, specifically those issued this year such as CALABARZON, Bicol, and Central Mindanao, were considered ‘hot items’ as many visitors requested for free copies of these issuances.

NWPC Chief Ciriaco A. Lagunzad underscored the importance of productivity, saying that it is “the only way to sustain rising wage and ensure competitiveness of firms and industries.” It is important to note that the new wage orders adopted the two-tiered wage system, prescribing productivity-based pay on top of the floor wage.

The job fair also showcased livelihood counseling, franchising opportunities, skills training, and livelihood skills demonstration. The nationwide event served 89,407 new graduates and job-seekers; 11,201 of which were hired on the spot.

Updated: May 02, 2012

Labor Day centers on job, productivity

Graduates and job-seekers yesterday at the World Trade Center grabbed not only jobs but also a chance to be productive workers as NWPC bared its prime programs in lifting labor and industry competitiveness.

Putting productivity on the lead, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz instructed NWPC to offer jobseekers and participating companies its programs such as Learning Session, Facility Evaluation, Time and Motion Study, 5S of Good Housekeeping, ISTIV, Service Quality, and Green Productivity among others. NWPC also promoted its biennial competition for successful MSMEs dubbed as ‘Productivity Olympics’.

NWPC officers posted at the booth also entertained walk-in queries on minimum wages and other labor-related issues. The latest wage orders, specifically those issued this year such as CALABARZON, Bicol, and Central Mindanao, were considered ‘hot items’ as many visitors requested for free copies of these issuances.

NWPC Chief Ciriaco A. Lagunzad underscored the importance of productivity, saying that it is “the only way to sustain rising wage and ensure competitiveness of firms and industries.” It is important to note that the new wage orders adopted the two-tiered wage system, prescribing productivity-based pay on top of the floor wage.

The job fair also showcased livelihood counseling, franchising opportunities, skills training, and livelihood skills demonstration. The nationwide event served 89,407 new graduates and job-seekers; 11,201 of which were hired on the spot.

Updated: May 02, 2012

New Wage Adjustment for Davaoeños

Effective January 1, 2012, minimum wage earners in Davao Region will receive a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) of P5.00 per day along with the integration of the P15.00 COLA under Wage Order No. RB XI-16.  An additional COLA of P10.00 will also be implemented on May 1, 2012 with the issuance of Wage Order No. RB XI-17.

The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board - Region XI unanimously approved Wage Order No. RB XI-17 on December 7, 2011 after conducting public hearings, studies and judicious evaluation of the socio-economic conditions in Region XI.

Under Wage Order No. RB XI-17, upon its effectivity, with the inclusion of the  P5.00 COLA, the workers in the Non-Agricultural sector and those employed in retail and service establishments with more than ten workers will receive P291.00. On the other hand, the agricultural workers will get P281.00 while those employed in retail and service establishments with less than 10 workers will receive P260.00 inclusive of the P5.00 COLA.

Based on the new Wage Order, the implementation of the additional P10.00 COLA on May 1, 2012 will bring the minimum wage levels in the region from a range of P301.00 to P270.00 depending on the sector or industry.

Wage Order No. RB XI-17 was published on December 17, 2011 at the Sun Star Davao, a newspaper of general circulation in Davao Region.

The new Wage Order does not provide exemption to distressed establishments. As in previous Wage Orders, domestic/household helpers, family drivers, persons employed in the personal service of another and workers in registered Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) are not covered. (By: ARLENE L. TUBORO)

Updated: May 02, 2012

RTWPB-IV-A Pioneers Two-Tiered Wage System
Grants P2.00 - P90.00 wage increase

Minimum wage earners in the CALABARZON area will receive new wage hike ranging from P2.00 to P90.00 a day under the new Two-Tiered Wage System.

Atty. Ricardo S. Martinez Sr., Chairman of the Regional Wage Board, Region IV-A, said that “Wage Order No. IV-15 sets a floor wage of P255.00, where the highest adjustment upon its effectivity is P18.00 per day and a low of P2.00 per day, to allow the affected industries to sustain their viability while ensuring protection to workers”.

He added the adjustments to the floor wage level that require increases ranging from P70.00 to P90.00 per day will have to be implemented on annual trenches for a period of 5 years or until 2016.

The new wage order also mandates a conditional productivity allowance of P12.50 per day for those receiving above the floor wage, including a productivity-based pay which is voluntary in character, ranging from 5.6% to 10.9% of the basic pay of the worker, which may vary depending on the industry classification.

It was issued by the Regional Board for Region IV-A (RTWPB IV-A) last March 28 after a series of public fora held in the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Quezon, and Rizal early this year.

Martinez also said that the P225 floor wage is a bit higher than the poverty threshold level of P252.26 as of January 2012, using the 4.65 average number of members in a family household per NSO survey and equivalent to 69.2% of the average wages in the region amounting to P368.88.

Meanwhile, NWPC Exec. Dir. Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III explained that the Two-Tiered Wage System is an integral part of  DOLE’s  package of reforms which Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz has approved, for the President’s 22-point labor and employment policy agenda.

Lagunzad said that the new wage reform policy system consists of a fixed floor wage or entry level for new entrants and low skilled workers and a flexible wage above the floor based on productivity and performance of industry and enterprises.

He added that the reason for the adoption  of the new wage system is   to correct the exclusion of millions of workers, particularly small enterprises, from protection of the minimum wage, while addressing a host of unintended outcomes like inflation, unemployment and informality.

RTWPV IV-A, which has been a strong advocate of productivity–based pay, is the first to fully implement the new wage system among the Wage Boards nationwide. Other regions are expected to implement the new wage system in their wage issuances.

WO IVA-15 will be published soon together with supplemental guidelines to help establishments determine productivity based pay at their level.

Updated: April 27, 2012

RTWPB-X Conducts Orientation-Consultation on D.O. 118-12

An Orientation-Consultation on Department Order No. 118-12 was successfully conducted by the RTWPB-X on April 20, 2012 with owners/operators, drivers and conductors of bus industry in Region X at the Grand Caprice Restaurant, Cagayan de Oro City.

The region has 15 bus companies classified under Small, Medium and Large Enterprises with employees ranging from less than 10 workers and up, with running buses plying the roads ranging from not less than 5 to more than a hundred buses region wide.

Also present during the orientation-consultation were representatives from the LTFRB, LGU/PESO, TESDA, NCMB, DOLE-Labor Inspectors, OSH – ECC and the RTWPB-X.

In his welcome message, Dir. Johnson G. Cañete, DOLE, Region X, stressed the need to integrate safety and health, labor-management schemes and other mechanisms for the mutual benefit and protection of both workers and of bus operators/company owners, considering the fallibility of humans and the non-negotiability of lives.

Cañete shared what he learned during a recent visit to Vietnam on road safety, as he called upon the bus transport industry sector to envision a zero accident or minimize/eliminate accidents by enhancing their safety and health practices and enforcing existing rules and regulations.

Estrella Pahalla, RTWPB X Board Secretary, presented the results of a survey by NWPC on working conditions and compensation scheme practices in the bus industry in the NCR, which the participants appreciated.  She also presented the basic provisions of D.O. 118-12 including its operational guidelines stressing on the terms and conditions of employment, fixed and performance-based compensation, training thru TESDA and LTFRB, social protection through SSS, EC, Philhealth and Pag-ibig, safety and health through creation of S&H committees in coordination with OSH and labor-Management cooperation schemes through the assistance of NCMB.  It was emphasized further that compliance and enforcement is subject to DOLE-RO inspection program.

Part of the agreement reached is the conduct of time and motion studies for each bus company and the plant-level discussions on the performance-based compensation as an incentive to performing and productive workers.  Bus companies shall submit the compensation scheme to the RTWPB-X using the prescribed form under D.O. 118-12. (By: Board Secretary ESTRELLA U. PAHALLA)

Updated: April 25, 2012

Minimum wage earners in Central Mindanao to receive P6.00 -P10.00 wage increase

Starting April 18, 2012, minimum wage earners in Central Mindanao or Region XII will have an increase of P15.00 in their basic pay in the form of COLA integration plus an additional Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) of P6.00-P10.00 in their daily wage rate under Wage Order RBXII-17. The increase set the minimum wage level in the region from P234.00-P260.00 to P240.00-P270.00.

Come December 1, 2012, workers belonging from the Agriculture and Retail/Service Sectors will gain an additional COLA of P4.00-P6.00.

Wage Order RBXII-17 was published on 3 April 2012 at Brigada Newspaper, a local daily newspaper in Mindanao.

The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board for Region XII (RTWPB XII) took the initiative to review the current wage rates in the region, one year after the previous issuance had taken effect.

Sectoral consultations, public hearings and deliberations were held in Kidapawan City and General Santos City to determine the propriety of issuing a new wage order. The results of the studies revealed the need to grant an increase in the minimum wage, primarily to help workers cope with rising prices of basic goods and commodities.

The wage rates prescribed under this Wage Order shall apply to all minimum wage employees in the private sector of Region XII, regardless of their position, designation or status of employment, and irrespective of the method by which their wages are paid.

Distressed establishments may apply for exemption from compliance with the new wage hike.

As defined, a distressed establishment is one that incurs a deficit of 20% or more of the paid-up capital as of the last full accounting period immediately preceding the effectivity date of the Wage Order.

Updated: April 11, 2012

"Distant Learning"

The Northern Cement Corporation located at Barangay Labayug, Sison, Pangasinan sent four delegates to the NWPC Learning Session held on March 30, 2012, Friday at NWPC Office, Manila.

“We learned about the Learning Session through your website”, said Mr. Mario S. Lagmay, an HR Supervisor of the Northern Cement Corporation, when asked how they learned about the NWPC Learning Session.

“The insights and inputs we gained from this Learning Session are useful to the workforce and to the company as well especially on the issues regarding the benefits and rights of the workers such as paternity and maternity leave benefits”, added Mr. Lagmay.

The session’s topic focused on Labor and Employment Issues on Women, which was tackled by Atty. Jamie Lyn Jamias-Garcia, Acting Division Chief of Wage Research and Policy Division. Some 48 participants and 29 companies attended the lecture.

The company was incorporated on February 10, 1967, thus one of the oldest and esteemed organization in the province. The idle forest of the municipality of Sison was turned into industrialized society by the initiative of Mr. Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, Jr.  He turned the community into a maker of quality cement and exporting it into the neighbouring countries such as India and China.

Under the leadership of Executive Director Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III, the NWPC has been marshalling its programs towards the Department’s thrust of providing quality service that will contribute to the attainment of highly productive and competitive Filipino workers.

With increasing public support, the Learning Session has been drawing flocks of attendees not only from Metropolitan Manila area but also from Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon Provinces and now the Ilocos Region area.

Indeed, no place is so distant as to prevent anyone from learning new knowledge. (By: MICHELLE IRISH D. MACKAY)

Updated: April 10, 2012