Aside from putting an end to contractualization, workers who consider themselves as minimum wage earners are also hoping for an increase in their wage rates. On May 1, which also happened to be the celebration of Labor Day, Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon finally got pay increases. Rosalinda Baldoz, labor secretary said that the provinces of Isabela, Quirino, Batanes, Cagayan and Nueva Viscaya currently have the minimum wage of P264 to P300.
The previous rates of Cagayan Valley provinces ranged from P219 to P255. According to the head of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Cagayan Valley, Pacifico Moralit, the said pay hike was the highest increase the region got for over two decades. Aside from Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon will also receive an increase of P7 in their wage.
“ART. 123. Wage Order. — Whenever conditions in the region so warrant, the Regional Board shall investigate and study all pertinent facts; and based on the standards and criteria herein prescribed, shall proceed to determine whether a Wage Order should be issued. Any such Wage Order shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from its complete publication in at least one (1) newspaper of general circulation in the region.
“In the performance of its wage determining functions, the Regional Board shall conduct public hearings/consultations, giving notices to employees’ and employers’ groups, provincial, city and municipal officials and other interested parties.
“Any party aggrieved by the Wage Order issued by the Regional Board may appeal such order to the Commission within ten (10) calendar days from the publication of such order. It shall be mandatory for the Commission to decide such appeal within sixty (60) calendar days from the filing thereof.
“The filing of the appeal does not stay the order unless the person appealing such order shall file with the Commission an undertaking with a surety or sureties satisfactory to the Commission for the payment to the employees affected by the order of the corresponding increase, in the event such order is affirmed.”
“ART. 124. Standards/Criteria for Minimum Wage Fixing. — The regional minimum wages to be established by the Regional Board shall be as nearly adequate as is economically feasible to maintain the minimum standards of living necessary for the health, efficiency and general well-being of the employees within the framework of the national economic and social development program. In the determination of such regional minimum wages, the Regional Board shall, among other relevant factors, consider the following:
“(a) The demand for living wages;
“(b) Wage adjustment vis-a-vis the consumer price index;
“(c) The cost of living and changes or increases therein;
“(d) The needs of workers and their families;
“(e) The need to induce industries to invest in the countryside;
“(f) Improvements in standards of living;
“(g) The prevailing wage levels;
“(h) Fair return of the capital invested and capacity to pay of employers;
“(i) Effects on employment generation and family income; and
“(j) The equitable distribution of income and wealth along the imperatives of economic and social development.
“The wages prescribed in accordance with the provisions of this Title shall be the standard prevailing minimum wages in every region. These wages shall include wages varying within industries, provinces or localities if in the judgment of the Regional Board conditions make such local differentiation proper and necessary to effectuate the purpose of this Title.
“Any person, company, corporation, partnership or any other entity engaged in business shall file and register annually with the appropriate Regional Board, Commission and the National Statistics Office an itemized listing of their labor component, specifying the names of their workers and employees below the managerial level, including learners, apprentices and disabled/handicapped workers who were hired under the terms prescribed in the employment contracts, and their corresponding salaries and wages.
