DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-10 urged business owners to comply with labor standards especially in the release of 13th month pay to workers on or before December 24.
Atheneus Vasallo, director II of DOLE-10, shared during Talakayan sa PIA, media forum, December 14 at SM City Cagayan de Oro that the release of 13th month pay after December 24 would mean violation of labor standards.
“We are advising management to voluntarily comply so that our workers will be happy and we are compliant to the law. The computation is one month's salary divided by 12 months x (total months of service in the company or establishment),” he said.
Just in case, the employer cannot pay the 13th month on time but both parties (employer and employee) have a written agreement as to when, then it will not be a violation, Vasallo added.
Further, businesses have availed of the loan facility under SB Corporation, a lending facility for MSMEs, for this specific payout. According to Julie Nieva, information officer of the Department of Trade and Industry, 66 loan applications have already been approved worth P15 million.
“Our mandate is to protect workers but we also encourage partnership between workers and management to continue employment and improve working conditions," said Vasallo adding that If there are violations, they advise management that a dissatisfied worker is non-productive.
"It is a must to comply with labor standards, so we can expect a productive worker,” he said.
Preservation of employment is one of the concerns of DOLE. At the start of the pandemic in March and April, from 95% employment rate, it plunged down to 88%. It only came back up to 95% not until July this year.
Through COVID Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP), DOLE gave out P5,000 assistance to affected workers. A total of P600 million were released benefitting around 100,000 workers.
Meanwhile, DOLE is continuously implementing Tulong Panghanapbuhay Para sa mga Disadvantaged and Displaced Workers (TUPAD).
In the forum, Vasallo said displaced workers and those in the informal sector such as the fisherfolk, farmers and women who have no income can avail of the emergency employment for a period of 10 to 30 days. So far, DOLE has provided temporary employment to 90,000 individuals.
As to the re-opening of businesses, DOLE is guided by Inter-Agency Task Force for COVID 19 (IATF) resolution 148B which states all establishments can now open provided that all their workers should be vaccinated.
However, those who will not subject themselves to vaccination will be respected but they are required to present an RT-PCR test once every two weeks at their own cost or expense. (JMOR/PIA-10)
