The Central Visayas Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB-7) has scheduled a series of public hearings on a possible minimum wage adjustment for private sector workers and household workers (kasambahay).
The board will hold the public hearings on:
April 12, 2022 at the Capitancillo Cafe and Restaurant in Bogo City, northern Cebu;
April 25, 2022 at the MetroCentre Hotel and Convention Center in Tagbilaran City, Bohol;
April 29, 2022 at the Bethel Guest House in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental; and
May 6, 2022 at the DepEd Ecotech Center in Cebu City.
The public hearings are being conducted in line with the directive of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III to speed up the review of minimum wages to help workers cope with the impact of high oil prices.
Oil prices recently broke records due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Regional wage boards are mandated to monitor and assess the economic situation regularly and may motu proprio review minimum wages.
“Setting and adjusting the wage level is one of the most challenging part of minimum wage fixing. Minimum wage cannot be very low as it will have very small effect in protecting workers and their families against poverty. If set too high, it will have an adverse employment effect. There should be a balance between two sets of considerations,” Bello said in a statement issued in early March.
The prevailing minimum daily wages in Central Visayas range from P356 to P404 for the non-agriculture sector, and P351 to P394 for the agriculture sector and establishments employing less than 10 people.
Domestic workers should receive a minimum monthly pay of P5,000 in cities and first class municipalities and P4,000 in other municipalities.
These are based on Wage Orders No. ROVII-22 and ROVII-DW-02 which took effect on Jan. 5, 2020. (Marites Villamor-Ilano/Ventures Cebu)