Minimum wage earners in Metro Manila will receive a P40 wage increase, according to a directive issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board on Thursday.

Approved by the Department of Labor and Employment, Wage Order NCR-24, issued on Tuesday, stated that the P40 increase will raise the NCR’s minimum wage from P570 to P610 for non-agricultural workers and from P533 to P573 for agricultural workers, as well as manufacturing establishments with fewer than 10 employees and service and retail establishments with fewer than 15 employees.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) acknowledged in a statement that Wage Order NCR-24 was presented on Tuesday to the National Wages and Productivity Commission, which affirmed the wage order on Wednesday. On Friday, it will be approved for publishing. The wage order will be effective on July 16.

The new rates reflect a 7% increase over the region’s daily minimum wage rates, and it remains over the regional poverty threshold of P452 per day for a household of five, according to the Labor Department.

“The wage order is expected to directly benefit 1.1 million minimum wage earners in Metro Manila.”

“About 1.5 million full-time wage and salary workers earning above the minimum wage may also indirectly benefit as a result of upward adjustments at the enterprise level arising from the correction of wage distortion,” DOLE said.

Photo: DOLE