Employers in Western Visayas may file an appeal before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) on the recently approved minimum salary increase, an official of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) in Region 6 yesterday said.

“The approval of new rates is flexible since the order provides remedies such as exemption,” DoLE Regional Director Johnson Cañete, who also chairs the RTWPB-6, said.

“If certain establishments can show proof that they have no capacity to implement the increase, the board can grant an exemption,” he added.

As of Wednesday, the new wage order has already been submitted to the National Wages and Productivity (NWPC) after it was signed by the RTWPB-6 members last week.

The board approved an increase of P13.50 to P41.50, which includes cost of living allowance, in the daily minimum wage of private sector workers in the region.

After receiving a copy of the new wage order, the NWPC will forward the document to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III for approval.

Wage Order No. 24 will then be published and will take effect 15 days after publication, which is possibly by August 15.