Workers who will be working today —May 1, Labor Day, a regular holiday—will be paid 200 percent of their wage, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Saturday as it reminded private sector employers of the pay rules for their employees.
“We enjoin our employers to observe the pay rules for this regular holiday, much as we also advise our workers to know their rights, especially this Labor Day,” said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, citing DOLE’s Labor Advisory No. 11 series of 2022.
This developed as labor leader and presidential aspirant Leodegario “Ka Leody” de Guzman revealed Saturday his agenda for the country’s wage workers if he wins the May 9 elections.
To resolve various labor issues in the country, de Guzman laid out the following agenda: 1. The right to unionize and go on strike; 2. The implementation workers…of constitutional rights about labor; 3. Pushing for standards and benefits for workers; and 4. Reforms in labor, justice, representation, and participation in government.
Another presidential candidate, Sen. Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson, believes the salary rates of workers must automatically increase matching the price adjustments of basic commodities, which often occur whenever the value of petroleum products goes up.
Lacson underscored this message during a town hall forum in Virac, Catanduanes on Friday in response to the earnest appeal of a longtime security guard whose take-home pay stayed the same for almost five years now.
The three-term senator said the DOLE, through its Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, must already be looking into the wage hike petitions of various workers who deserve to earn enough money for a satisfactory standard of living.
The Labor Advisory mandates that workers reporting for duty during the declared regular holiday shall be paid a total of 200% of their wages for that day for the first eight hours, computed as [(Basic wage plus Cost of Living Allowance) x 200 percent].
If the employees did not work, they shall be paid 100% of their wage for that day, subject to certain requirements under the implementing rules and regulations of the Labor Code, as amended, computed as [(Basic wage + COLA) x 100%].
For work done more than eight hours or overtime work, the workers shall be paid an additional 306% of their hourly rate on the said day [hourly rate of the basic wage x 200% x 130% x number of hours worked], the DOLE said.
The Labor department said that if employees work on a regular holiday that also falls on their rest day, they shall be paid an additional 30% of their basic wage of 200%, computed as [(basic wage + COLA) x 200%] + [30% (basic wage x 200%)].
Lastly, for overtime work on a regular holiday that also falls on the workers’ rest day, they shall be paid an additional 30 percent of the hourly rate on the said day, computed as [hourly rate of the basic wage x 200% x 130% x 130% x number of hours worked], the DOLE said.
Meanwhile, in a Facebook post, de Guzman noted that 26.3 million were salaried workers out of 41.5 million employed Filipinos, and their combined hard work, intellect and talents were powering the local economy.
“Ngunit sa kabila ng kanilang kontribusyon sa progreso, hindi pumapatak sa kanila ang pag-unlad na ipinangako ng ‘trickle down economics’ [But despite their contributions to our progress, the improvements promised by ‘trickle down economics’ have not reached them],” he said.
Under the first agenda, De Guzman said that he would remove laws that restricted unionization, criminalize labor violations, and abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict or NTF-ELCAC.
He also pledged to push for the establishment of national trade unions in sectors of the economy like agriculture, construction, transportation, and others.
Under his second agenda, De Guzman said he would work to ensure workers got a living wage and to abolish the Wage Rationalization Act. He would also work to get full employment for workers and help them engage in collective bargaining with employers.
For his third agenda of pushing for standards and benefits for workers, De Guzman said he would aim to get them a 50 percent overtime rate, one month separation pay, 14th month pay, as well as 126 days of paid maternity leave.
He would also push monthly pensions, tax breaks, and housing benefits for workers.
Under his fourth agenda of reforms in labor justice, representation, and participation in government, De Guzman said he would have the Labor Code amended and reorganize the National Labor Relation Commission to expand protection of workers and impose heavier penalties on labor officials collaborating with abusive employers.
Workers would also be encouraged to participate in government and be represented in government as well.