DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 29 January) — Progressive labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)-Southern Mindanao has urged the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB)-Davao to set the daily minimum wage for workers in Davao Region at ₱1,200.
The group issued the statement after the RTWPB-Davao announced that a public hearing had been scheduled on February 13 to review the current minimum wage of employees in the private sector and domestic workers.
Jeffry Uypala, KMU-Southern Mindanao spokesperson, said in a statement on Thursday that they are calling for an across-the-board increase in daily minimum wages commensurate with the rising cost of living in Davao.
The labor leader, however, said his group is not optimistic that the agency “will consider a significant increase in the wages of workers in the Davao Region,” noting that past wage adjustments had been minimal.
“Based on our experience and the track record of the wage board, they only add small amounts to the minimum wage in the region, which is not enough to cope with the rising prices of basic commodities and the growing expenses of ordinary and poor families,” he said in Cebuano.
Under Wage Order No. RB XI-23, which took effect on March 7, 2025, the board approved a ₱29 increase, raising the daily minimum wage rates to ₱510 from ₱481 in the non-agriculture sector/industry and ₱505 from ₱476 in the agriculture sector/industry.
Uypala also criticized President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for his lack of commitment to implementing wage increases.
The public hearing will be conducted from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Luzon Ballroom at Grand Regal Hotel and will be accessible simultaneously via Zoom.
The board also urged interested parties to submit their position papers regarding the possible adjustment of the minimum wages on or before February 9 at its office at the Upper Ground Floor, Parking Building, Bormaheco Compound, along J.P. Laurel Avenue, this city, or through email at rtwpbxi@yahoo.com.
“The input of our stakeholders is important in the process of minimum wage determination,” it said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
