Calamba City around 7 2 0 , 0 0 0
minimum wage earners in Calabarzon can
expect higher daily pay
later this month after
the region’s wage board
approved an increase in
minimum wages in the
private sector.
The Regional Tripartite Wages and
Productivity Board
(RTWPB) IV-A announced that starting
September 24, 2023,
workers will receive a
daily increase ranging
from P35 to P50 on top
of their current rate under Wage Order No. IVA20.
With the wage order, the new minimum
rates in Calabarzon
will now range between P385 and P520
in non-agriculture sector, P385 to P479 in the
agriculture sector, and
P385 for retail and service establishments employing not more than
10 workers.
“For example, if you
used to earn a minimum wage rate of P470,
we added P50 in areas
that are already developed. That amounts to
a 10.63% increase. The
others would be rounded up to nine to 11%,”
said Gener Rivera, Labor
and Employment Officer
III of RTWPB IV-A.
The new wage order was based on separate consultations with
workers and companies,
where factors were also
considered such as the
inflation rate, purchasing power of the peso,
price of basic goods, and
the companies’ capacity
to provide the requested
wage increase.
“The rest of the factors that are considered
in creating the wage order are decided by our
board members who
have the expertise and
know the necessary data
and requirements for a
wage increase,” Rivera
explained.
The wage adjustment includes minimum
wage workers in the private sector across all industries, including both
regular and contractual
workers.
“All minimum wage
workers – whether in
manufacturing, retail
and service, or any other industry – will receive a salary increase.
If you earn the lowest
wage, those rates will
be increased. No matter where you work or
what job you have as a
minimum wage earner,
everyone is included,”
Rivera added.

Once implemented,
workers in the agriculture sector in emerging
growth areas will have a
minimum wage of P385,
up from P350, while
those in the extended
metropolitan area will
have a minimum wage
of P479.
Workers in Calabarzon welcomed the wage
increase even as they
pushed for the initial
minimum wage petition
of P750 due to the higher cost of basic goods
and utilities.
Edward Latoja, a
manufacturing worker
from Dasmariñas City,
described the increase
as beneficial but would
not be enough to match
today’s high cost of living.
“You already have
expenses as soon as you
wake up, what more
when you go to work.
There are still monthly
bills to pay, like electricity. That’s why the
P520-minimum wage is
still not sufficient,” he
added. (PB, AM/PIA-4A)