ILOILO CITY — The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Western Visayas (RTWPB-6) has scheduled public consultations for October to discuss potential adjustments to the minimum wage for private sector and domestic workers in the region. The hearings, aimed at gathering stakeholder inputs, will take place on October 10 and 21, 2024, and will be crucial for evaluating the necessity of wage revisions under the current economic conditions.

According to the Philippines News Agency, the first of these meetings is set for Sam's 21 Hotel on Diversion Road in Mandurriao, Iloilo City. Scheduled from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., the session will focus on private sector employees, followed by a consultation for domestic workers, locally referred to as kasambahay, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This session will consider the wages for areas including Iloilo City and the provinces of Iloilo, Aklan, Capiz, Antique, and Guimaras.

The second consultation will be hosted at the Social Hall of the Negros Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City, covering Bacolod City and the province of Negros Occidental. It will similarly feature a morning session dedicated to domestic workers and an afternoon session for private sector workers.

The consultations are a response to the inputs from labor and management sectors across the region, aimed at determining the need for a wage adjustment. The current Wage Order No. RBVI-27, which took effect on November 16, 2023, raised the daily minimum wage in Western Visayas by PHP30. As a result, non-agriculture, industrial, and commercial establishments employing over 10 workers now adhere to a daily rate of PHP480, while smaller establishments with 10 or fewer workers pay PHP450. Agricultural workers currently earn PHP440 daily.

Additionally, under Wage Order No. RBVI-DW-05, domestic workers received a monthly wage increase of PHP500 last November, bringing their minimum monthly wage to PHP5,000.