TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board – Cordillera Administrative Region successfully conducted public hearings on Minimum Wage Adjustments for Private Sector Workers in Kalinga and Apayao at the Golden Berries Hotel & Convention Center, Tabuk City on October 29, 2024, and for Ifugao and Mountain Province at Kanto Cucina Restaurant, Lagawe on October 30, 2024.
Representatives from various sectors including labor and management groups from the provinces, actively participated in the proceedings, each presenting their stance on whether a wage increase is warranted.
Regional Director Nathaniel V. Lacambra noted that each sector has its position and perspective on the issue of wage increase. Nonetheless, it is vital to balance their interests to effectively address workers’ needs while also considering employers’ capacity to pay and the sustainability of businesses in the region. He assured the participants that all perspectives would be considered during the board’s deliberations.
The board will continue to hold public hearings in other provinces across the region to ensure that a comprehensive range of perspectives is gathered. The result of these public hearings will help the board decide on the appropriate wage adjustment for the region.
Earlier, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. directed the various wage boards in the country to review the prevailing minimum wages in their respective areas of jurisdiction and work out the necessary adjustments to provide workers in the private sector decent wages.
At present, the minimum daily wage for workers in the private sector in the Cordillera was fixed at P430 pursuant to an order that was handed down by the wage board last year.
Some wage boards in other regions already issued updated wage orders that have adjusted the minimum wages for workers in the private sector in their respective areas of jurisdiction over the past several months.
The wage board is a tripartite body composed of representatives from the government, the management and the labor sector and is tasked to study the appropriate minimum wage for private sectors in the various regions of the country.
The labor sector remains optimistic on the grant of an increase in the prevailing minimum wage in the region which could be implemented the soonest to allow minimum wage earners to be able to cope with the effects of the significant increase in the prices of basic commodities aggravated by the unpredictable movement in oil prices among other factors beyond their control.
