Soccsksargen minimum wage earners to get P32 pay hike

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 24 May) – The minimum daily wage for workers in the private sector in Soccsksargen (Region 12) will increase by P32, bringing the salary rate from P347 to P368 a day, an official said Tuesday.

Jessie dela Cruz, board secretary of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board – Region 12 (RTWPB-12), said the daily wage of workers in the agriculture/service/retail establishments sector was adjusted to P347 and P368 for those in the non-agriculture sector.
 
The regional wage board initiated the review of the minimum salary rate motu propio or on its own since no labor group filed a petition to increase the daily basic wage in the area, he said.
 
The board conducted a public consultation in March and approved the adjusted daily wage rates last Wednesday, May 18.
 
The wage increase will be granted in two tranches – P16 upon the effectivity of the order on June 9 and P16 on September 1, 2022, Dela Cruz said.
 
He said the increased daily wage rate for minimum earners is above the region’s 2018 poverty threshold.
 
The monthly poverty threshold for a family of five living in Soccsksargen in 2018 was P10,416, or P347 daily, to meet their basic food and non-food needs, data from the region’s Philippine Statistics Authority showed.
 
The National Wages and Productivity Commission approved over the weekend the wage adjustment in Soccsksargen.
 
Dela Cruz said the wage increase will take effect 15 days after publication in a local newspaper.
 
Raymundo Agravante, DOLE-12 director, urged micro, small and medium enterprises and COVID-19 pandemic hit businesses to apply for exemption from the wage adjustment.
 
Under the Omnibus Rules on Minimum Wage Determination, retail/service establishments regularly employing not more than 10 workers and establishments affected by natural calamities and/or human-induced disasters, including the pandemic, may apply for exemption from compliance with the issued wage orders.
 
The last time the minimum wage for private sector workers in the Soccsksargen region was adjusted on February 2, 2020 – P336 for non-agriculture and P315 for agriculture / retail / service establishments employees.
 
Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong and Kidapawan. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)