MANILA -- Workers in Ilocos Norte will have something to cheer about in the coming holiday season as they are about to get a wage hike.

The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Ilocos Region has approved a P33 daily minimum wage increase for domestic and private sector workers in the area.

This means the daily minimum wage for workers in the non-agriculture sector employing 10 or more employees is now P468, while the salary for the workers in the non-agriculture sector with less than 10 employees is at P435.

The board also upped the minimum wage of kasambahay or household workers by P500, which means their minimum salary is now at P6,000.

The wage hike will be effective on November 7, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

The DOLE said the new rates mean an 8 percent increase from the prevailing daily minimum wage rates in the region.

It also said this may result in a comparable 12 percent increase in wage-related benefits covering 13th-month pay, service incentive leave, and social security benefits such as SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG.

The agency said the wage hike will directly benefit 170,143 minimum wage earners. It may also help about 349,112 full-time wage and salary workers earning above the minimum wage, who may indirectly benefit from the correction of wage distortion. 

Meanwhile, the wage increase for kasambahays is expected to help almost 100,000 domestic workers.

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