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NCR wage increase takes effect June 14

NCR wage increase takes effect June 14
Monday, June 16, 2008

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today said that the new wage hike for minimum wage workers in the private sector in the National Capital Region (NCR) took effect Saturday, (June 14, 2008).

Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque said the effectivity of the wage hike is based on Wage Order No. 14, issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in the NCR, which granted a P20 per day increase for minimum wage workers in private sector in the region on May 16.
Roque said that the P20 wage increase consists of P15 increase in the basic pay, and P5 cost-of-living-allowance (COLA) which will be automatically integrated into the basic pay on August 28, 2008.

Amidst the development, the Labor Chief cited an earlier report of DOLE National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) Executive Director Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III that all wage boards in the nation's 17 regions have completed the new wage rounds.
Roque said that on top of the NCR, these are the wage boards, respectively, in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Region I (Ilocos), Region II (Cagayan Valley), Region III (Central Luzon), Region IV-A (CALABARZON), Region IV-B (MIMAROPA), Region V (Bicol), Region VI (Western Visayas), Region VII (Central Visayas), Region VIII (Eastern Visayas), Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula), Region X (Northern Mindanao), Region XI (Davao Region), Region XII (SOCKSARGEN), Region XIII (CARAGA), and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Roque was apprised by Lagunzad that, after completing their deliberations, the wage boards in the said regions have granted wage increases to the minimum wage workers in the private sector, as follows: Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)- P10 and P15 additional COLA was granted by the Regional Board on May 27; Region I (Ilocos)- P10 COLA was granted by the Regional Board on May 29; Region II (Cagayan Valley)- P12 wage increase was granted by the Regional Board on May 22, along with integration of the P8 COLA under Wage Order (WO) No. RTWPB II-9 into the basic wage upon effectivity of the Order; Region III (Central Luzon)- P15 increase (P10 in the basic pay and P5 COLA) was granted by the Regional Board on May 21, along with integration of the P9 COLA under WO No. RB III-13 into the basic wage upon effectivity of the Order; Region IV-A (CALABARZON)- P12 to P20 increase in the basic pay was granted by the Regional Board on May 14; Region IV-B (MIMAROPA)- P10 wage increase for all sectors, and P5.00 COLA for non-agriculture sector only, was granted by the Regional Board on May 21; Region V (Bicol)- P13 COLA (P6 to be integrated to the basic wage 6 months after effectivity) was granted by the Regional Board on May 29; Region VI (Western Visayas)- P15 Emergency Relief Allowance (ERA) was granted by the Regional Board on May 22; Region VII (Central Visayas)- P17 increase in basic pay was granted by the Regional Board on May 22; Region VIII (Eastern Visayas)- P10 COLA additional COLA was granted by the Regional Board on May 20; Region IX- (Zamboanga Peninsula)- P5 basic pay and P10 COLA (for a period of three months, thereafter integration of P5 out of the P10 COLA under WO No. IX-14 into the basic pay); Region X (Northern Mindanao)- P12 COLA was granted by the Regional Board on May 14, along with integration of the P16 COLA under WO No. RX-12 to the basic wage upon effectivity of the Order, and integration of the P10 COLA under WO No. RBX-13 on November 16, 2008; Region XI (Davao Region)- P15 COLA was granted by the Regional Board on May 21, along with integration of the P16 COLA under WO No. RTWPB XI-13 upon effectivity of the Order, and integration of the P10 COLA under WO No. RTWPB XI-14 on September 16, 2008; Region XII (SOCKSARGEN)- P7 to P10.50 increase in basic pay, and P3 to P5 COLA, was granted by the Regional Board on May 22; Region XIII (CARAGA)- P8 increase in basic pay and P5 additional COLA was granted by the Regional Board on May 28, 2008; and, ARMM- P10 increase in the basic pay.

SSS News

SSS files 400 criminal cases against erring employers

The Social Security System (SSS) has filed criminal cases against more than 400 employers for violating the Social Security Law, which carry penalties of stiff fines and imprisonment, a top official said.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Corazon de la Paz said 412 employers face charges for offenses such as failure to remit payments, refusal to show records to SSS officers, submission of inaccurate employment data and lack of SSS registration.

“We don’t tolerate employers who deny their employees SSS benefits because of neglect or disobedience,” she said.

The state-run pension fund expects to collect more than P60 million from 264 employers who failed to pay contributions and loan payments. The SSS imposes monthly penalties of 3 percent on late contributions and 1 percent for unpaid loans.

The law requires employers to report all employees for SSS coverage and allows SSS account officers to check company records. Grossly negligent employers face up to 12 years in jail and fines ranging from P5,000 to P20,000.

De la Paz said the SSS planned to intensify its legal actions against delinquent employers, after Malacañang gave it exemption from paying a filing fee for cases in the prosecutor’s office since February.

The SSS has 47 cluster lawyers all over the country, including 21 in the National Capital Region, whose principal task is to file legal cases against delinquent employers.

------------------ 05 November 2007

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Labor Law

Labor Code of the Philippines

Title VI

UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES

Chapter I

CONCEPT

ART. 247. CONCEPT OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES AND PROCEDURE FOR PROSECUTION THEREOF.

Unfair labor practices violate the constitutional right of workers and employees to self-organization, are inimical to the legitimate interest of both labor and management, including to right to bargain collectively and other wise deal with each other in an atmosphere of freedom and mutual respect, disrupts industrial peace and hinder the promotion of healthy and stable labor-management relations.

Consequently unfair labor practices are not only violations of civil rights of both labor and management but are also criminal offenses against the state which shall be subject to prosecution and punishment as herein provided.

Subject to the exercise of the president or by the secretary of labor and employment of the power vested in them by articles 263 and 264 of this code, the civil aspects of all cases involving unfair labor practices, which may include claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms of damages, attorneys fees and other affirmative relief, shall be under the jurisdiction of the labor arbiters. The labor arbiter shall give outmost priority to the hearing and resolution of all cases involving unfair labor practices. They shall resolve such cases within thirty (30) calendar days from the time they are submitted for decision.*

No criminal prosecution under this Title may be instituted without a final judgment, finding that an unfair labor practice was committed, having been first obtained in the preceding paragraph. During the pendency of such administrative proceeding, the running of the period of prescription of the criminal offense herein penalized shall be considered interrupted: provided, however, that the final judgment in the administrative proceedings shall not be binding in the criminal case nor be considered as evidence of guilt but merely as proof of compliance of the requirements therein set forth.

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