Minimum daily wage rises P37-P40 in Western Visayas, Negros Occidental

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – The daily minimum wage in Western Visayas, including Negros Occidental in the Negros Island Region (NIR), increased by P37 up to P40 effective Wednesday, November 19 – but both business and labor groups are unhappy, with one saying the adjustment falls short of expectations.

Wage Order No. RBVI-29, approved by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), now applies to Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Guimaras, and Iloilo City under Western Visayas or Region VI. It is also compulsory in Negros Occidental and its capital, Bacolod City.

The wage order mandates a P37-per-day increase for minimum-wage earners in non-agricultural, industrial, and commercial establishments with more than 10 employees. This brings the daily wage from P513 to P550.

But for establishments with 10 workers or fewer, the new daily rate rises from P485 to P525, reflecting a P40-per-day increase.

Agricultural workers will also get a P40-per-day increase, raising their daily pay from P480 to P520.

Household workers in Western Visayas and the Negros Occidental will likewise benefit, with a P500 monthly increase – from P6,000 to P6,500.

“Daw limus (These are like alms),” said Noli Rosales of the progressive group Bayan in Negros.

Rosales told Rappler that labor groups had pushed for a P200-per-day wage increase to help workers cope with inflation and rising prices of basic goods such as rice and fish.

Rosales said, “P35 to P40/day wage increase is too low. Maybe P50/day could please us,” Rosales said.

The local business sector also frowned on the wage order, with Frank Carbon, vice president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), calling the increase “mistimed.”

Citing the recent devastation caused by Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi) in Negros Island, rising fuel costs, the restiveness of Kanlaon Volcano, decreasing sugar millgate prices, and the seasonal closure of the Visayan Sea to allow sardine, mackerel, and herring spawning, Carbon warned that the new wage adjustment could lead to “another labor mess” with up to 50% employee layoffs and a shift to rotation schemes to manage operational costs.

Given these conditions, he said, the business sector would seek relief by asking regulators to hold the implementation of the wage hike in abeyance for six months to one year.

Wennie Sancho, secretary-general of the General Alliance of Workers Associations (GAWA) in Negros, said the business sector’s complaints have become the same lines said every time a wage hike order is issued.

If employers feel aggrieved, Sancho said, they can file for exemptions and cite valid reasons why they cannot implement the wage order. They may also appeal to the NWPC, but he said it is “impossible” that the increase will trigger massive layoffs.

Sancho said his group was also unhappy with the new wage rates.

“It is inappropriate with the current economic trend,” he said. “But I think we need to respect this new wage law.”

On Thursday, November 20, Sixto Rodriguez Jr., director of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Region VI, urged companies to strictly comply.

“Since it is already effective thus it should be implemented,” said Rodriguez, who also chairs the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Region VI.

“The new wage order will also form part of our shared responsibility in promoting decent work and fair labor treatment,” he said. – Rappler.com