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Friday, November 07, 2003
Longer leaves proposed
By Linette C. Ramos Sun.Star Staff Reporter
BETTER benefits and working conditions await workers while violators of labor laws face stiffer penalties if Congress approves the proposed amendments to the Labor Code.
The congressional oversight committee on labor and employment held its first public hearing in Cebu City yesterday to gather suggestions from both labor and management sectors on the amendments that will be made.
Committee executive director Casiano Flores said there is already a need to amend Presidential Decree 442 or the Labor Code of the Philippines since its provisions were written in 1974 yet.
He assured that the commission will use the output of the eight public consultations that they will hold across the country to ensure that the new code will be fair to both labor and management.
Among other provisions, the new code will ensure utmost enforcement and implementation of the
law on wages by declaring unlawful “labor only contracting” and giving the workers first and absolute preference regarding wages and monetary claims in case a company closes.
The proposed code also increases from five to 10 days the service incentive leave of an employee.
“We hope to approximate the rights of the workers with those of the management. We would like to have a Labor Code that is reflective of the present times. We have to keep up with globalization.
With the existing code, some provisions are already old and we have to change them,” Flores told reporters yesterday.
Lawyer Armando Alforque, legal counsel of the National Federation of Labor, said the new code is fairer to both the labor and the management than the existing Labor Code.
“I don’t think the proposed amendments are biased to either side, I believe it is fair to both the employer and the employee. The provisions promote the welfare of the workers and at the same time consider the capacity of the management,” Alforque said.
In a separate interview, Hidelito Pascual, former management representative to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB), said most of the amendments are seen to lessen labor and management conflict.
“Most amendments are very good because it clarifies provisions which have been causes of misunderstanding between management and labor, although there are amendments that will put more burden on the employer, like the increase in the service incentive leave,” he said.
Alforque hopes the provision on the 13th month pay should be a separate article to emphasize its importance.
Under the new code, the 13th month pay is lumped with the article tackling holiday pay.
The proposed code will ensure humane working conditions and provide for the workers’ right to family and medical leave of four weeks without pay in a year, in the event that a family member suffers from serious illness.
Occupational health and safety and employees’ compensation program will also be strengthened by removing from the employee the burden of proving that his sickness merits compensation.
Collective bargaining and the staging of strikes will also be easier.
The registration of labor organizations will be a mere ministerial function and the holding of a certification election will no longer need a petition; it will just require a request that should be filed with the Department of Labor and Employment.
(November 7, 2003 issue)
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