DOLE: Unpaid holiday pay most common complaint

Unpaid holiday pay was among the most common complaints of workers received by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) through its hotline.

According to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, a majority of the calls they received through the hotline were from workers who complained they were not paid for the work they rendered during declared holidays. “The non-payment of holiday pay is one of the most common concerns brought by workers to the department,” he said. DOLE had launched last week its 24/7 hotline service 1349 to enable workers to file complaints and queries concerning their employment. Bello said DOLE entertains any questions raised through the hotline, including on workers’ rights and benefits, labor relations and local and overseas employment opportunities. Ten hotline assistance officers are manning the hotline at any given time to make sure that DOLE can attend to the workers’ needs. DOLE is expecting to get more complaints about non-payment of holiday pay as the country celebrates today the Islamic holiday Eid’l Adha. Under the law for regular holiday, employees who did not report for work would be paid 100 percent of their salaries for that day. Employees who reported for work shall be paid 200 percent of their regular wages for that day for the first eight hours; and an additional 30 percent of their hourly rates for overtime work. Bello underscored the declaration of Sept. 12, 2016 as a regular holiday was meant to “foster goodwill between the Filipino Muslims and the Filipino Christians, as the feast is a celebration of Muslims in honoring the willingness of Ibrahim to obey Allah and in commemorating the end of Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).” “Voluntary compliance with labor laws, including correct wage payment during holidays, denotes workplace excellence and redounds to the competitiveness of business and the country’s industries,” he added.