Firms in the Philippines told to pay 13th month wages or face sanction
- Claire Lee
The Philippines’ Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) should partner with local governments to penalise firms that fail to pay workers’ 13 month wages, proposed Senator Raffy T. Tulfo.
Under the proposal, local government units will have the authority to withhold the annual business permit renewal of a company that violates the 13th month pay legislation.
Under the country’s existing labour guidelines, workers must be paid their 13th month wages before December 24.
“It’s almost the Christmas season. This is the time of the year where our workers hope to receive their 13th month pay. Instead, this does not happen because they are cheated by their employers,” Tulfo said in Filipino during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, reports Business World.
READ: Employers in the Philippines urged to adopt alternative workplace schemes
“Mere issuance of advisories” from DOLE is not enough, he said. “As long as [firms] are not hurt in the process, they will ignore that advisory, seeing that even with a law requiring 13th month pay, employers are still disobeying it.”
