Bicol workers get P12 wage hike

LEGAZPI CITY — Effective this month, workers in the Bicol region will get a P12 hike in their daily minimum wage.

"The daily wage increase of P12 a day will help workers cope with the rising cost of living without hampering the growth of business and industry in the region," said Glenda Manalo, regional director of the Department of Labor and Employment and head of the regional tripartite wage and productivity board.

Under the new wage order, non-agricultural workers in the cities of Naga and Legazpi will now get a P194 daily wage, and those in the cities of Tabaco and Iriga and the towns of Pili and Daraga, P187. Elsewhere, it will be P182.

Workers in the cottage and handicraft sector in Legazpi and Naga will get P169, and in Tabaco, Iriga, Pili and Daraga, P162. Elsewhere, it will be P157.

Agricultural workers in Legazpi and Naga will receive P172, and in Tabaco, Iriga, Pili and Daraga, P167. In other Bicol areas, it will be P162. — Celso Amo