SENATE minority leader Vicente Sotto III has filed a bill that seeks to require private sector employers to grant their workers a 14th month pay on top of the existing 13th month pay.
Sotto said Senate Bill No. 193 will help ease the workers’ burden amid the rising costs of commodities and other expenses.
He said Presidential Decree No. 851, or the decree requiring employers to pay their employees 13th month pay, was enacted in 1976 and it is high time that employers give more to their workers.
“For 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 said.
Under the proposed bill, the 13th-month pay should be released by June 14 to help workers with the educational expenses of their children, while the 14th-month pay should be given not later than December 24 to assist families with holiday and year-end expenses.
He said the bill has “exemptions” for qualified employers so as not to burden struggling businesses, as they are equally important for the country’s economy.
The proposed law, he said, will cover non-government rank-and-file employees, workers under the Kasambahay Law, and others entitled to 13th month pay, provided they have worked for at least one month during the calendar year.
He said distressed companies, non-profit institutions suffering from major income declines, and employers already providing a 14th-month pay or its equivalent will not be required to follow.
