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The labor group based in NEGROS Occidental, the General Association of Workers (Gawa), has expressed its strong disappointment at the pronouncement of the Secretary of Labor, Silvestre Bello III, on the possible postponement of the payment of the thirteenth month for some two million workers by business establishments that had suffered great losses or losses. distraught due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
Wennie Sancho, Gawa’s secretary general, said it is unfortunate that workers are the shock absorbers from the economic impact caused by the pandemic.
Sancho, also a labor representative of the Tripartite Regional Board of Wages and Productivity (RTWPB) in Western Visayas, said that the 13th Month Pay Law or Presidential Decree 851 will mean that 1/12 of an employee’s basic salary within a calendar year will be paid on or before December 24 of each year.
The basic salary will include all compensation or earnings paid by an employer to an employee for services rendered, but cannot include the cost of living subsidy (Cola), he said.
The union leader added that “the implementation of the thirteenth month’s pay cannot be arbitrarily deferred by the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) because it is a law, unless the workers give up their claim rights.”
At a virtual press conference Thursday, Bello said management and employees should discuss the issue of awarding the 13th month pay.
He urged companies affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to simply delay and not completely rule out granting their workers the 13th month pay.
The cabinet official admitted that they have to file a notice to determine the meaning of a company “in trouble.”
Under the law, if a business establishment is characterized as a troubled business, it is exempt from paying the thirteenth month.
For the labor sector, however, if there are business establishments that are in difficulty and would file an exemption request, it must be processed and evaluated by Dole’s regional offices and will be effective only if there is an authorization from the secretary.
The Philippine Constitution mandates that “the State shall provide full protection to work” and that the implementation of the payment of the thirteenth month is a matter of social justice, Sancho emphasized.
He said that it is also a social legislation and, in case of doubt, it should be resolved in favor of the workers who are the main socio-economic force.
The union group pointed out that denying workers their 13-month salary would be an additional form of injustice.
He said the Labor Code mandates that benefits already enjoyed cannot be reduced or diminished to protect workers.
The 13-month payment is mandatory and cannot be postponed or denied, said his official, who emphasized that “it would be like asking the worker to walk barefoot on a road dotted with broken glass.” (With PNA reports)
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