Wage board lauds wage system among mining companies in Caraga
By RTWPB Caraga
BUTUAN CITY – The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) Caraga lauded the Nickel Asia Corporation (NAC) for its implementation of two-tiered wage system in the respective collective bargaining agreements (CBA) of Taganito Mining Corporation (TMC), Cagdianao Mining Corporation (CMC) and Hinatuan Mining Corporation (HMC) during the visit of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma on January 22,2024 at Almont Inland Resort, Butuan City.
Jessie Pagaran, NAC’s representative, presented
their two-tiered best practice to Sec. Laguesma. According to him, “the
implementation of two-tiered CBA wage increase is patterned to Wage Board’s
two-tiered wage system, wherein the 1st tier is fixed wage increase, and the
2nd tier is focused on performance-based incentive. This practice is made
possible through the convergence, assistance and intervention of DOLE Caraga,
RTWPB and National Conciliation and Mediation Board - Caraga.”
Pagaran further explained the contents of the
two-tiered CBA increase, stating, "the two-tiered wage increase is
composed of fixed increase and a performance-based increase. The latter
increase is based on a criterion crafted and agreed by the employer and its
union during the CBA negotiation, refined in their monthly labor-management
committee meetings, and annually reviewed for adjustments. The criteria
used and implemented in these mining companies are bilateral as negotiated
between the management and unions during their CBA negotiations and not unilateral
or exclusively dictated by the management to its unions.”
“The performance-based increases measures the
contribution of an employee to the group objectives established for the year
and his individual contribution in terms of attendance, compliance with safety,
environment, and company polices, among others, that are easily attributable to
the employee,” he said.
Earl D. Dela Victoria, board secretary VI of RTWPB
Caraga complimented NAC’s implementation on two-tiered wage system, saying, “as
advocates of performance-based incentive schemes (PBIS), we are very grateful
to the efforts of the management and workers of NAC in their full adoption of
the two-tiered wage system. We are hoping that there are more firms that will
follow the practices of NAC in the promotion of workers' welfare and in
advocating performance-based incentives schemes."
The two-tiered wage system is a reform that maintains the mandatory minimum wage setting under Wage Rationalization Act or RA 6727 as the 1st tier, and being complemented by a voluntary productivity-based pay scheme as the second tier. It was conceptualized in 2010 and implemented in 2012 with the support of social partners. (RTWPB-CARAGA/PIA-CARAGA)
