Businesses that are struggling and those that have gone bankrupt due to the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for the wage hike exemption, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Tuesday.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III told Teleradyo that businesses with no more than ten employees and businesses affected by natural or man-made calamities, such as a pandemic, can submit applications to the regional offices of the wage board.
He said the government understands the pandemic’s impact on businesses.
The National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) has confirmed that they are open to apply for exemption from the minimum wage increase.
The wage board recently approved P33 in addition to the minimum wage in the National Capital Region and P55 in Western Visayas.
But Presidential Adviser on Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion appealed to exempt small businesses from this year’s wage hike.
Last week, the Department of Labor and Employment said that Metro Manila’s wage board granted a P33 rise for minimum-wage employees on Friday, bringing the regional rate for non-agricultural occupations to P570.
The daily rate in the agriculture sector of the NCR would be P533.
Companies can apply for wage hike exemption – DOLE
According to the labor department, the new salary increases are intended to “restore” the purchasing power of minimum wage earners amid rising prices of essential items and petroleum products, with an estimated 1 million private-sector workers shielded from “undue low pay.”
Meanwhile, DOLE announced that the Western Visayas wage board approved a salary rise of P55 and P110 for workers in non-agricultural, industrial, and commercial firms, increasing the daily minimum wage in the region to P450 and P420, respectively.
According to DOLE, the same wage board also approved a P95 rise for agricultural employees in Region 6, bringing their daily minimum salary to P410.
The grounds for granting the raises in Western Visayas were similar to that of its NCR counterpart.
The Department of Labor stated that the new salary increases would be presented to the Commission for assessment and 15 days after publication in a general circulation newspaper.
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