The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) announced on Wednesday, October 2, that minimum wage earners in three regions of the Philippines will receive an increased daily take-home salary following approval from the regional wage boards.
The salary hike will benefit workers earning minimum wage in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and Soccsksargen in Mindanao, and will take effect starting October 17, according to DoLE. This, as the National Wages and Productivity Commission validated the newly approved wage orders that grant the pay increase.
“The new rates for workers in private establishments translate to about 7%-15% increase from the prevailing daily minimum wage rates in these three regions, and result in a comparable 7%-12% increase in wage-related benefits,” DoLE said, adding that around 905,000 minimum wage earners in the three regions will gain from this development.
Cagayan Valley’s Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) approved the P30 increase in the daily minimum wage across all sectors. Workers in the region’s non-agriculture and agriculture sectors will now be able to receive P480 and P460 daily minimum wage, respectively.
Household service workers in Cagayan Valley will receive a P500 increase in their monthly salary, bringing the recommended minimum to P6,000.
The RTWPB in Central Luzon, meanwhile, granted a P50 to P66 hike in daily minimum wages.
The first tranche of which will take effect on October 17, and will benefit workers in Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales. Non-agriculture workers, agriculture workers, and retail/service workers will receive a minimum wage of P525, P485 and P515, respectively.
The second tranche, to be implemented on April 16, 2025, will bring the daily wage to P550 for non-agriculture workers, P520 for agriculture workers, and P540 for retail/service workers.
The hikes will also be implemented in two tranches in the province of Aurora, with the non-agriculture workers beginning to earn P475, agriculture workers P460 and retail/service workers P410 effective October 17. The second tranche on April 16, 2025 will have minimum salaries of P500 for non-agriculture sector workers, P485 for agriculture sector, and P435 for retail/service sector in the province.
The wage hike in Soccsksargen will be between P27 and P48, and will be implemented in four tranches — on October 17, January 1, 2025, April 1, 2025, and the fourth on June 1, 2025.
Upon full implementation in June next year, workers in Soccsksargen will see their daily minimum wage reaching P430 in the non-agriculture as well as in retail and service sectors, and P410 in the agriculture sector.
