Zamboanga: The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced Tuesday that the implementation of the second tranche of the PHP25 salary increase for private sector workers will proceed in June as scheduled. Albert Gutib, DOLE-Zamboanga Peninsula director, stated that the Industry Tripartite Council, with guidance from the National Productivity Commission, has denied the employers' sector's request to temporarily suspend the second tranche of the wage increase.

According to Philippines News Agency, the employers' sector had appealed to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board to delay the wage increase due to unstable fuel prices resulting from the Middle East crisis. However, Gutib emphasized that exemptions from wage increases are only permitted in cases of natural or human-induced calamities that severely affect business establishments, as outlined in the Omnibus Rules on Minimum Wage Determination, specifically Rule VII.

Gutib confirmed in a statement that the request from the employer sector was denied. He clarified that the fuel crisis alone does not qualify as a basis for exemption from wage increase under existing labor regulations. As a result, the daily salary of workers in the private sector in the Zamboanga Peninsula will increase to PHP464 from the current PHP439, starting in June with the implementation of the second tranche of the salary hike.

This wage adjustment follows the first tranche of the PHP25 salary increase, which raised the daily wage from PHP414 to PHP439 and took effect in January this year.