HR Online has been down for the past few months due to technical problems, but we are now back up and running with two of the hottest news for us working citizens!
First off is the new holiday. Originally a regional holiday for the city of Calamba, the birthday of national hero, Jose Rizal, has been turned into a nationwide holiday and moved to June 20, 2011. This adds one long weekend the the sparse count of long weekends for the year - with most of the holidays falling on sundays.
June is a great time to catch some last minute summer fun - right before the monsoon season hits the country. A copy of the proclamation can be found at the Official Gazette, the Philippine Government's official website.
The second news is the approved Php22 cost of living allowance (COLA) granted to all minimum wage workers. There are many mixed reactions regarding this announcement, with the trade unions mostly contesting the price and mechanics of the granted allowance. DOLE reasoned out that this adjustment was put under COLA because it is the win-win situation for both employees and employers - granting a monetary increase to the minimum wage without adding extra burden to the financial constraints of employers. Whether or not the Php22 daily increase can help the employed sector deal with rising inflation prices is the point that trade unions are contesting the the moment.
For those who are not aware, increasing the minimum wage adds to the financial burdens of employers because it is not only the salaries that they pay the employees that get changed. With increases in minimum wage, an employee's gross monthly wages also changes and may put them in higher salary brackets for their government benefits (SSS, philhealth and PAG-IBIG). In addition, higher wages also means higher payouts for companies who grant paid or cash-convertible leaves, 13th month pay and retirement benefits.
Only those who are minimum wage earners are entitled to receive the additional Php22 allowance. However, there is no rule restricting companies from granting the same benefit to their above-minimum wage workers. The allowance in non-taxable and amounts to Php478 - 573 additional income per month for employees who work 5-6 days a week.
The new minimum wage table can be found at the National Wage and Productivity Commission (NWPC) website.
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