Northern Mindanao workers to get P23-P35 daily wage hike in January

December 26, 2024 | 6:19pm

MANILA, Philippines — The National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) has approved minimum wage increases for Northern Mindanao workers, ranging from P23 to P35.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced that the NWPC confirmed the wage order during their December 18 meeting.

Under Wage Order No. RX-23, non-agricultural workers will receive a P23 increase, while agricultural workers will get a P35 hike.

“These increases will bring the minimum wage rates in the region to a range of P446 to P461 upon full implementation and will effectively eliminate the sectoral rate differentiation between the non-agriculture and agriculture sectors,” the DOLE said in its statement.

Additionally, the NWPC approved a separate wage order increasing the monthly salary of household workers or “kasambahays” in Northern Mindanao.

“Wage Order RX-DW-04 grants a P1,000 monthly increase for kasambahays across Northern Mindanao,” the agency said.

The wage orders for Northern Mindanao will be released on December 27 and take effect on January 12, 2025.

A similar order has been issued for the National Capital Region (NCR), where kasambahays in Metro Manila will receive a P500 monthly increase.

“This will raise the sector’s monthly minimum wage to P7,000,” DOLE announced.

The wage order for NCR will be released on December 19 and take effect on January 4, 2025.

DOLE reported that 14 regional wage boards nationwide have issued new increases: NCR, the Cordillera Administrative Region, MIMAROPA, and Regions I, II, III, IVA, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XII, and XIII.

The increases range from P21 to P75.

“Nine new wage orders were issued for domestic workers in regions NCR, CAR, I, II, MIMAROPA, VI, VIII, X, and XIII, with monthly wage increases ranging from P500 to P1,100,” DOLE stated.

The increases will benefit 4,907,584 private sector workers.

However, wage increase deliberations have been delayed in two regions: the Bicol Region, due to damage from tropical cyclone Kristine, and the Davao Region, where stakeholder discussions continue.