DOLE: 52% of inspected Metro firms violating minimum wage law

Most workers in Metro Manila are not receiving just wages and the situation may worsen in the next months, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) showed.

Latest data from the DOLE-Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) showed that 52 percent of the 343 commercial firms inspected in Metro Manila were not complying with the prevailing minimum wage rate in the region.

The minimum wage is P250 a month plus P50 emergency cost of living allowance.

The same data revealed that employers in Metro Manila are among the leading violators of the minimum wage law, next only to those in the Ilocos and Southern Tagalog regions.

Inspected commercial firms in Ilocos and Southern Tagalog posted 83 percent and 63 percent minimum wage rate violators, respectively.

However, Labor Assistant Secretary and spokesman Benedicto Ernesto Bitonio said the data is not very accurate, considering that DOLE inspects establishments that are prone to violations.

"Since establishments were pre-classified as prone to violations, naturally we would record a high non-compliance," Bitonio explained.

Bitonio admitted that more establishments nationwide are expected to provide wages below the prevailing minimum rates because of the new wage orders issued by the different regional wage boards.

"There is a pattern of increasing violations of minimum wage rates three months after the effectivity of the new wage order, but this would drop again after another three months," he said.

Bitonio explained that many employers simply wait after inspections before they comply with a newly issued wage order.

Earlier, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) reported that many firms nationwide are having difficulty complying with newly issued wage orders.

Bitonio said employers should not be complaining because the boards, prior to the issuance of wage orders, had consulted them.

To prevent non-compliance with minimum wage law, DOLE would intensify inspection of commercial establishments nationwide with the assistance of local government units.

Bitonio noted that DOLE has signed a memorandum of agreement allowing local government units to assist labor inspectors in ensuring compliance with labor standards, including minimum wage rates.