A P20 daily minimum wage hike was announced by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) Chairman Yahya Centi (left) and RTWPB Secretary Reynaldo Solivares (right) (PNA Photo)

Tacloban City – A P20 daily minimum wage hike was granted by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWP) to over three million Eastern Visayas private sector workers.

Wage Order No. 21 is expected to be implemented by mid-August upon confirmation by the National Wages and Productivity Commission, RTWPB chairman Yahya Centi said in a recent press briefing.

Two installments are seen for its implementation – P10 for the six months starting on its effectivity date and the remaining P10 after seven months.

This raises the minimum daily wage from P305 to P325 for workers in the non-agriculture sector including sugar mills, as well as those employed in retail services establishments with 11 to 30 workers.

Meanwhile, workers in the cottage and handicraft industries, the farming sector and those in smaller retail businesses with 10 employees and below will soon receive a daily minimum wage of P295.

Mandated to conduct a wage review a year after effectivity, Centi said the board initiated the review in April 2019 as the previous wage order was implemented in June 25, 2018.

Eastern Visayas’ regional board is made up of six members — three representatives from the government, two from the workers’ sector and one from the employers’ sector. (Jojo Mangahis)