Wage increase in CAR

The daily minimum wage for workers in the cities of Baguio and Tabuk and municipality of La Trinidad, Benguet since Nov. 18, 2019 is P350 while for workers in Ifugao, Kalinga, Apayao, Abra, Mountain Province and other towns in Benguet, the minimum wage is P340 based on prevailing poverty threshold.
This was the basis for the approval of Wage Order RB-CAR-20.
Threshold is the minimum income required by a family or person to buy basic food and clothes and spend on housing, transportation, health and education, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The Cordillera poverty threshold for the first half of 2018 was P12,352 per capita, which meant that an individual needed a minimum monthly average income of P2,059. A family of five required a minimum monthly income of P10,293 “to be considered not poor.”
Meanwhile, the current minimum wage rates for domestic workers in the Cordillera based on Wage Order CAR-DW-03 effective May 1, 2019 is P4,000in cities and first-class municipalities and P3,000 for other municipalities of the region.
The possible wage adjustment is pursuant to the March 9, 2022 directive of Labor Sec. Silvestre Bello III, ordering minimum wage review in all the regions in the country due to the skyrocketing prices of oil products caused by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and escalating prices of basic goods, commodities, and petroleum products.
Recently, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board of the Department of Labor and Employment-Cordillera conducted several public hearings and consultation on the possibility of adjusting the regional minimum wage rate to give an opportunity for petitioners and other stakeholders to voice out and explain their position and present evidence relative to minimum wage adjustment.
Consultations were held for Kalinga and Tabuk City attended by workers, private establishments, stakeholders, and the public at Golden Berries Hotel on April 19 in Tabuk City.
For Ifugao and Mountain Province, the consultation was held in Anayah’s Riverside Hideaway, Samoki, Bontoc last April 20.
Another hearing was held in Abra for its stakeholders and the public on April 26 at Lucky’s Hotel and Restaurant in Bangued. For those in Baguio and Benguet, the consultation was held on April 28 at Margarita Hall, Hotel Supreme, Magsaysay Avenue while domestic workers in the region attended the hearing last April 28 at the same venue.
The RTWPB-CAR will consolidate all the petitions and suggestions during the recently concluded series of public hearings and consultations on minimum wage adjustments in the region.
In a related development, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines on May 6 filed a petition for wage increase for workers in the private sector in the Cordillera. The petition seeks to raise the minimum wage in the region from P350 per day to P410 per day.
The RTWPB-CAR is headed by DOLE-CAR Director Nathaniel V. Lacambra, chairperson; National Economic Development Authority-CAR Director Susan A. Sumbeling and Department and Trade and Industry-CARDirector Juliet P. Lucas as vice chairpersons; Board of Directors are Engr. Renerio Lardizabal Jr. and Atty. Milton Balagtey representing the workers’ sector and Engr. Alfonso Lao and businessman Johnny Dela Cruz representing the employers’ sector. The board secretary is Atty. Marvie Fulgencio.