Northern Mindanao workers to get P17 COLA

Minimum wage earners in Region 10 (Mindanao) will receive a P17 Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) following a new wage order issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board. In a statement posted on the DOLE website Friday, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the RTWPB in Northern Mindanao issued Wage Order No. RX-16 which granted the P17 COLA, which will be integrated in the basic pay after six months. "The new wage order will take effect before the end of the month," Baldoz said, adding that the increase will be effective 15 days after the publication of the order in a newspaper of general circulation. The DOLE statement said Northern Mindanao was the fifth region to have mandated wage rate increases since May 1. The other regions that did so earlier included National Capital Region, Region III (Central Luzon); Region VI (West Visayas); and Region VIII (Eastern Visayas). Wage categories The statement said that for the first six months, the minimum wage rates in the non-agricultural sector in Northern Mindanao under Wage Category I (covering Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities; and the towns of Tagoloan, Villanueva, and Jasaan) will be P286 while those in the agriculture sector will be P274. Those under Wage Category II (Malaybalasy, Valencia, Gingoog, El Salvador, and Ozamis Cities; and the towns of Maramag, Quezon, and Manolo Fortich) will get P281, while those in the agriculture sector will be P269. Non-agricultural workers under Wage Category III (Oroquieta and Tangub Cities; and the towns of Lugait, Opol, and Mambajao) will receive P276, while those in the agriculture sector in the same category will receive P264. Non-agriculture workers under Wage Category IV (areas not covered by the previous categories) will receive P271, while those in agriculture sector will receive P259. Meanwhile, wage earners in the sugar agricultural industry covered by Supplemental Wage Order No. RX-15 that took effect on Feb. 17, 2011 will have a minimum wage rate of P259. Baldoz said the wage order will apply to all minimum wage earners in the private sector in the region "regardless of their position, designation or status, and irrespective of the method by which their wages are paid." However, the order does not cover household or domestic helpers and workers in the personal service of another, including family drivers and workers of registered Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) hired after its effectivity. Productivity improvement schemes In the same statement, National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) Executive Director Ciriaco Lagunzad III said the wage order also encouraged businesses to adopt productivity improvement schemes. These may include time and motion studies, good housekeeping, labor management cooperation, and gain-sharing programs to sustain rising levels of wages and enhance competitiveness. "The NWPC shall provide companies the necessary studies and technical assistance pursuant to R.A. 697 or the Productivity Incentives Act of 1990," he said. — RSJ, GMA News