THE Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) suggests the proposed 14th-month pay bill should take into consideration the start-up companies and the micro, small and medium enterprises’ (MSMEs) financial capacity.
“We also need to take into consideration the capacity of employers on this because if a company happened to be a start-up business, then that is like putting them in a disadvantaged position. We suggest that they look into the companies’ capacity to pay because for large companies it would not be a problem at all, but how about for MSMEs?,” DCCCII president Arturo Milan said in vernacular during a phone interview Tuesday, July 2.
He added that in Davao City, majority or 99.2 percent of the registered businesses are MSMEs and only 0.8 percent are medium and large businesses.
According to the press release of the Senate of the Philippine on Monday, July 1, the Senate Bill No. 10, also known as An Act Requiring Employers in the Private Sector to Pay 14th Month Pay, was re-filed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III in the Senate on Monday.
It is a measure seeking to require the private sector to pay their employees a 14th month pay every 24th of December regardless of their status, designation, and irrespective of the method by which their wages are paid.
It will also cover all non-government rank and file employees who have at least rendered one month of work during the calendar year.
Milan said that while this bill may be good for the labor sector, there is still a need to “strike a balance between the labor and the employer” so that it will benefit both.
“There are still are a lot of factors that still need considerations on these kinds of proposals,” Milan said.
He said the chamber will look into the proposal to further give comments and suggestions and prevent negative impact on the industry.