• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Labor and management representatives aired their respective views on the proposed minimum wage adjustment for private sector workers in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental during the first public hearing initiated by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) Region 6 at Citadines Oct. 6.
Noli Rosales of the Kilusang Mayo Uno Negros said his group and the Iloilo Pepsi Cola Workers Independent Union are calling for a P250 increase in the daily minimum wage of workers in the region, or to P800 from the current P550.
The P800 minimum wage would help workers “recover the lost value of their wages, and survive the supervening conditions caused by high inflation rates, high cost of fuel, and the energy crisis,” the position paper states.
Willard Gallo, a crab industry consultant, meanwhile, said that rather than implement a flat-rate increase that threatens the collapse of the multi-billion blue swimming crab industry, local crab picking stations and provincial processing facilities should be classified under micro and small agricultural/fishery enterprises.
This would grant them a lower, manageable wage floor compared to large commercial industrial sectors, Gallo said. “Forcing a uniform wage hike on a sector currently fighting a potential total export ban…will decimate the very livelihoods the Board intends to protect.”
He also pushed for targeted fuel subsidies for fishers and emergency livelihood assistance for off-season workers, noting that around 15,000 workers are affected by the ongoing US ban on the import of blue crabs from the Philippines.
Registered nurse Loida Aquino, meanwhile, appealed for an increase in the take-home pay of healthcare workers commensurate to the industry and the service they provide.
There were also proposals to increase the daily wage to P600, while others noted that the hike should not be higher than the P42 additional pay already approved by the RTWPB in Central Visayas for private sector workers in Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Cebu, and Bohol that will take effect on Oct. 14.
The RTWPB6 assured that these concerns will be given due consideration during the Board’s deliberations.
Meanwhile, the public hearing for workers in the sugar industry, including sugarcane planters and farm workers in Negros Occidental and Panay will be held this morning, also at Citadines.
On Oct. 9, the hearing for the proposed wage adjustment for kasambahays, or domestic workers, in Negros Occidental and Panay will be held in Iloilo City.
The last hearing for stakeholders in Aklan and Capiz will be held on Oct. 20 in Boracay.
These hearings provide an important avenue for workers, employers, and other stakeholders to share their experiences, concerns, and perspectives on wages and working conditions—bringing grassroots realities and reliable data into the wage-setting process, the RTWPB6 said in a statement.
“More than determining a wage rate, the proceedings seek to help shape a wage policy that is adequate, responsive, fair, and evidence-based—one that recognizes the needs of workers, considers the capacity and sustainability of enterprises, and supports the broader regional economy,” it added.
The current minimum wage in the region, including in the highly-urbanized Bacolod and Negros Occidental, is P550 in the non-agriculture/industrial/commercial sector with more than 10 workers, and P525 for establishments with 10 workers or less.
Workers in the agriculture sector should be paid P520 a day, while kasambahays should get a monthly salary of P6,500, per the approved minimum wage order that took effect on Nov. 19, 2025. | CGC
