In a significant development for workers in private establishments in the National Capital Region (NCR), the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) has issued Wage Order No. NCR-24 on June 26, 2023. This order grants a daily wage increase of PhP40.00, raising the minimum wage from P570.00 to PhP610.00 for the non-agriculture sector. For the agriculture sector, service and retail establishments employing 15 or fewer workers, and manufacturing establishments regularly employing less than 10 workers, the daily minimum wage has been increased from PhP533.00 to PhP573.00.
The wage order was submitted to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) for affirmation on June 26, 2023. The NWPC affirmed the wage order the following day and authorized its publication on June 30, 2023. The wage order will take effect 15 days after its publication, specifically on July 16, 2023.
This wage increase is a response to several petitions filed by various labor groups seeking a rise in the daily minimum wage due to the escalating prices of basic goods and commodities. The Board, which includes representatives from the government, management, and labor sectors, held a public hearing on June 21, 2023, in Pasay City and a wage deliberation on June 26, 2023, in Manila City.
The new rates represent a 7% increase from the prevailing daily minimum wage rates in the region. These rates are above the regional poverty threshold of PhP452 per day for a family of five. The increase also results in a comparable 7% rise in wage-related benefits, including the 13th-month pay, service incentive leave (SIL), and social security benefits such as SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG.
The wage order is expected to directly benefit 1.1 million minimum wage earners in the NCR. An estimated 1.5 million full-time wage and salary workers earning above the minimum wage may also indirectly benefit due to upward adjustments at the enterprise level arising from the correction of wage distortion.
Retail/service establishments regularly employing not more than ten (10) workers and enterprises affected by natural calamities and/or human-induced disasters may apply to the RTWPB for exemption from the wage increase. Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) are not covered by the minimum wage law as per Republic Act No. 9178 [2002].
The last Wage Order for workers in private establishments in the region was issued on May 13, 2022, and became effective on June 4, 2022.