RULE VII : Wages

SECTION 1. Definition of Terms. As used in this Rules —

a) "Act" means Republic Act No. 6727;

b) "Commission" means the National Wages and Productivity Commission;

c) "Board" means the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board;

d) "Agriculture" refers to all farming activities in all its branches and includes among others, the cultivation and tillage of the soil, production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural commodities, dairying, raising of livestock or poultry, the culture of fish and other aquatic products in farms or ponds, and any activities performed by a farmer or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with such farming operations, but does not include the manufacturing and/or processing of sugar, coconut, abaca, tobacco, pineapple, aquatic or other farm products;

e) "Plantation Agricultural Enterprise" is one engaged in agriculture within an area of more than 24 hectares in a locality and/or which employs at least 20 workers. Any other agricultural enterprise shall be considered as "Non-Plantation Agricultural Enterprises";

f) "Retail Establishment" is one principally engaged in the sale of goods to end-users for personal or household use;

g) "Service Establishment" is one primarily engaged in the sale of service to individuals for their own or household use and is generally recognized as such;

h) "Cottage/Handicraft Establishment" is one engaged in an economic endeavor in which the products are primarily done in the home or such other places for profit which requires manual dexterity and craftsmanship and whose capitalization does not exceed P500,000, regardless of previous registration with the defunct NACIDA;

i) "National Capital Region" covers the cities of Kalookan, Manila, Pasay and Quezon and the municipalities of Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasig, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig and Valenzuela;

j) "Region III" covers the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales and the cities of Angeles, Cabanatuan, Olongapo, Palayan and San Jose;

k) "Region IV" covers the provinces of Aurora, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, Quezon, Rizal and Romblon and the cities of Batangas, Cavite, Lipa, Lucena, Puerto Princesa, San Pablo, Tagaytay and Trece Martires;

l) "Department" refers to the Department of Labor and Employment;

m) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Labor and Employment;

n) "Basic Wage" means all remuneration or earnings paid by an employer to a worker for services rendered on normal working days and hours but does not include cost-of-living allowances, profit sharing payments, premium payments, 13th month pay or other monetary benefits which are not considered as part of or integrated into the regular salary of the workers on the date the Act became effective."

o) "Statutory Minimum Wage" is the lowest wage fixed by law that an employer can pay his workers;

p) "Wage Distortion" means a situation where an increase in prescribed wage rates results in the elimination or severe contraction of intentional quantitative differences in wage or salary rates between and among employee groups in an establishment as to effectively obliterate the distinctions embodied in such wage structure based on skills, length of service, or other logical bases of differentiation;

q) "Capitalization" means paid-up capital, in the case of a corporation, and total invested capital, in the case of a partnership or single proprietorship.