Starting October 30, minimum wage earners and domestic workers in Central Luzon will receive a wage hike following the approval of Wage Orders RBIII-26 and RBIII-DW-05 by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) III.
Under Wage Order RBIII-26, the wage increase will be implemented in two tranches. The first tranche, ranging from P20 to P40, will take effect by the end of October 2025, while the second tranche, ranging from P30 to P40, will take effect on April 16, 2026.
With this adjustment, the daily minimum wage in Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales for the first tranche will increase to P570, P540, and P560 for the non-agriculture, agriculture, and retail and service sectors, respectively. By April next year, these rates will rise to P600, P570, and P590.
For Aurora, the daily minimum wage rates for the first tranche are P530.00 for the non-agriculture sector, P515.00 for the agriculture sector, and P475.00 for the retail and service sector, while the second tranche rates will be P560, P545, and P515.
Similarly, under Wage Order RBIII-DW-05, the monthly minimum wage for domestic workers will have a P500 increase, raising it from P6000 to P6500.
The RTWPB 3 said the wage hike aims to restore workers’ purchasing power, narrow the gap between the minimum wage and the poverty threshold in the region, and promote a “fair distribution” of economic growth between employers and employees.
“The newly issued wage orders reflect the Board’s efforts to balance the sentiments and considerations gathered during the public hearings, taking into account the positions of both labor and management representatives, along with prevailing socio-economic conditions of the region, employers’ capacity to pay, as well as the level of enterprises’ productivity,” the Board added.
