ZAMBOANGA CITY, June 9, 2022- Minimum wage earners in Zamboanga Peninsula will receive an increase in their daily take-home pay after the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board IX (RTWPB IX) approved a wage order granting them additional daily pay of ₱35.00 last June 1, 2022.

The National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) has finally approved ZamPen’s Wage Order No. RIX-DW-03 and Wage Order No. RIX-21 last June 2, 2022 and June 7, 2022 respectively.

“The decision to increase minimum wages in the ZamPen Region has been hard fought considering the impact of the pandemic in the regional economy. The Board was also concerned with the plight of MSMEs, which is the majority type of business operating in the region, and other businesses affected by the recent pandemic closures and losses,” said DOLE 9 Regional Director and Wage Board Chairperson Atty. Roy L. Buenafe.

Currently, the wage order for the region has been in effect since July 2018 while the new wage order will take effect around 25 June 2022 or after fifteen (15) days following its publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

W.O. No. RIX-21 will now entitle minimum wage earners a daily rate of ₱351.00 from the previous ₱316.00 for those working in the non-agricultural category and retail/service establishments with 31 workers or more. Retail and service workers in establishments with 10-30 workers will also have their pay increased to ₱338.00 from ₱303.00 daily.

The Board also favored the micro enterprises and small retail/service establishments, along with the agriculture sector, to have two tranches in the daily pay hike. In this category, upon effectivity of the new wage order, ₱20.00 will be added for workers in the retail/service establishments with 9 or less employees, along with workers in the agricultural sector.

The second tranche effective October 1, 2022 will then provide an additional ₱15.00 increase. The current wage rate for these group of workers is at ₱303.00, and with the effectivity of Wage Order No. RIX-21, it will now be at ₱323.00, then eventually ₱338.00 by October 2022.

The Board also approved Wage Order No. RIX-DW-03 increasing the minimum wage for kasambahays by an additional ₱500.00 monthly. Thus, the resulting monthly minimum wage rates for kasambahays in the region will now be at ₱4,000.00 for chartered cities and first-class municipalities, while kasambahays in other municipalities will now have ₱3,500.00 monthly.

The issue on wage adjustment has been an ongoing concern for the Board since the start of the year as a result of rising prices of basic goods during the pandemic. In their collective decision to increase the minimum wage, the Board considered various factors and socio-economic conditions in the region.

Upon full effectivity, the new wage order would benefit around 269,767 workers in private establishments, as well as 18,984 domestic workers that are currently working in the ZamPen region. END/RTWPB9