Senate Minority Leader Tito Sotto Believes It’s “High Time” for Private Sector Employees To Be Given 14th-Month Pay
TITO SOTTO – The Senate Minority Leader filed a Senate bill seeking for 14th-month pay for the employees of the private sector.
In the employment field in the Philippines, aside from the monthly salary, a lot of workers get extra pays just like the 13th-month pay and the 14th-month pay apart from the holiday pays. Government workers get both 13th-month pay and 14th-month pay that help augment their expenses and pay off their collected loans and debts.
However, in the case of the private sector employees, they only get 13th month pay which is given every December. All rank-and-file employees in the private sector are entitled to get a 13th-month pay as long as they have worked for at least a month during the calendar year.
All employees in the private sector are entitled to receive a 13th-month pay regardless whether the worker is on a regular, probationary, or casual status. Undeniably, most people use their extra pay to pay off their accumulated debts in the entire year as well as to help meet the increased expenses during the holiday season.
Amid the high costs of goods and necessities in the Philippines now, Senate Minority Leader Tito Sotto proposes the granting of the 14th-month pay for the workers in the private sector, too. The government workers get their 14th-month pay usually between late November to early December while their 13th-month pay is often released between June and July.
Based on a report on Inquirer, Senate Minority Leader Tito Sotto said that it is high time for the private sector employees to also be given 14th-month pay citing the changes in the cost of living in the country now.
“After almost five decades, the needs and cost of living of every Filipino worker have drastically changed. Thus, it is high time that employees in the private sector receive their 14th-month pay,” Sotto stated.
Senate Minority Leader Tito Sotto refiled the Senate Bill No. 193. Based on the report, under it, the private sector employee eligible for a 14th-month pay will receive not less than one-twelfth (1/12) of the total basic salary earned by the worker within a calendar year.
Sotto suggested that the 13th-month pay of the private sector workers will be released by June so the amount can help augment the educational expenses of their children while the 14th-month will be given not later than December 24 to assist them in the household’s holiday expenses.
Meanwhile, based on the report, in the bill refiled by Sotto, it is stated that distressed companies will not be required under the measure citing “they are equally important for our economy”. He stressed that the bill seeks to support employees without putting the employers on the downside.
Aside from the 13th-month and 14th-month pay,. there are also offices of the government as well as private companies that give out Christmas Bonuses. Previously, Malacañang has reportedly given P50K Christmas Bonus to their employees.