• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Western Visayas will start its series of public hearings on minimum wage adjustment for private sector workers and kasambahays in the region, including in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental, next month.
The public hearing for private establishment employees in Bacolod and Negros Occidental is set on Oct. 15, starting at 1:30 p.m., at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City.
A similar hearing for kasambahays or domestic workers, also in Bacolod and Negros Occidental, will be held the following day, Oct. 16, in the same venue, the RTWPB6 said in an advisory.
For workers in Iloilo City, Iloilo province, Antique, Aklan, Capiz, and Guimaras, the hybrid public hearing will be on Oct. 8, starting at 8:30 a.m., at Diamond Jubilee Hall in Iloilo City.
For those interested in submitting their position papers, visit the RTWPB6 at Doña Maria Bldg., El 98 corner La Castilla Streets in Jaro, Iloilo City, or email it via rtwpb6@yahoo.com until Oct. 2, the advisory added.
The Board, led by its vice-chairperson, Arecio Casing Jr., who is the regional director of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (formerly NEDA), held public consultations last week to determine the new minimum wage for Western Visayas.
“This proactive effort aims to set a fair wage order by balancing the needs of employees and the financial realities of businesses in the region,” the RTWPB6 said in a statement, adding that “inputs gathered from these sessions will be crucial in formulating a new wage order that effectively balances the needs of workers with the economic realities faced by employers.”
The National Wages and Productivity Commission approved the grant of P33 to P40 per day basic wage increase for workers in Region 6, effective Nov. 17, 2024. The current `daily minimum wage rates are P513 for non-agriculture/industrial/commercial establishments employing more than 10 workers; P485 for those with 10 workers or less; and P480 for agricultural workers.
The minimum wage rate for kasambahays in the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental, including their respective component cities and the highly-urbanized Bacolod and Iloilo, is P6,000 per month, from the previous P5,000. | CGC
