THE National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) said at least 4.1 million minimum wage earners have benefited from the salary adjustments in 15 regions in 2023.

In a social media post on Monday, the NWPC said a  total of 15 wage orders were issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) for workers in the private sector, nine of which were initiated motu proprio.

According to the NWPC, the RTWPB-National Capital Region (NCR) was the first to issue a wage hike order on June 26, which provided for a P40 pay hike.

This raised the minimum wage in Metro Manila to P610 from P570 for the non-agricultural sector and to P573 from P533 for the agriculture sector.

The Northern Mindanao wage board was the latest to issue a wage hike order on Dec. 21.

The region’s minimum wage has been raised to P438 from P423 for the non-agriculture sector, and to P426 from P411 for the agriculture sector.

Meanwhile, the NWPC said that around 8.1 million “full-time wage and salary workers” earning above minimum wage are expected to benefit from the correction of wage distortions.

Wage distortion occurs when the variations in wage structures or rates among employee groups within an enterprise are significantly eliminated or substantially diminished due to mandated wage increases.