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Members of the National Wage Coalition on July 22, 2024 ask President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to certify as urgent the passage of pending wage bills during their SONA program at University Avenue. Michael Delizo, ABS-CBN News

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<div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1723346874536New Project (1).jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Members of the National Wage Coalition on July 22, 2024 ask President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to certify as urgent the passage of pending wage bills during their SONA program at University Avenue. Michael Delizo, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Members of the National Wage Coalition on July 22, 2024 ask President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to certify as urgent the passage of pending wage bills during their SONA program at University Avenue. Michael Delizo, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">MANILA <strong>(UPDATED) </strong>— Cutting holidays will let companies save on holiday pay but will not affect productivity and will just deprive workers of benefits they have long been receiving, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Speaking on Teleradyo Serbisyo, TUCP Secretary General Arnel Dolendo said that what would raise productivity is investing in workers and in their equipment.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“Andami nating kumpanya na gustong mataas ang productivity, ang kanila namang machinery ay 1960s pa,” he said.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">(We have so many companies that want to raise productivity but their equipment is from the 1960s)</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/8/9/senate-eyes-fewer-holidays-1716">READ: Senate eyes fewer holidays to make Filipino firms, workers more productive</a></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Dolendo was reacting to Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s announcement that the Senate is looking at fewer holidays to boost productivity in the Philippines.</p><div><ivs-player data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-vid="3065592"></ivs-player></div><script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Escudero said that, including local holidays, workers in the Philippines have more than a month of holidays “which makes Philippine companies and workers less competitive.”</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Depending on the type of holiday, <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/4/8/working-on-a-regular-holiday-means-double-pay-dole-1056">employees may get extra pay if they are made to work on that day</a>. Employees who do not work on a regular holiday are still entitled to their daily rate.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“Kung babawasan ‘yan, bakit naman lagi pagka ang iniisip nila ang productivity, ang magsasakripisyo ang mga manggagawa,” Dolendo said.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">(Why is it that when they think of productivity, it is always the workers who need to sacrifice?)</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">He said employers can boost productivity by investing in training for their workers and investing in better equipment.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“‘Yun lang magbe-benepisyo ang mga employer dahil mababawasan ang gastos nila,” he said.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">(Only the employers will benefit because there will be no holiday pay)</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/7/2/senators-push-for-legislated-increase-after-finding-p35-minimum-wage-increase-in-ncr-too-low-1322" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RELATED: Senators push for legislated increase after finding P35 minimum wage increase in NCR too low</a></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">The trade off, Dolendo said, would be in workers earning even less and in them struggling even more for work-life balance.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“Hindi na nga natin nabibigyan ng maganda ang mga manggagawa, lalo na yung mga minimum wage earners, tatanggalan pa natin sila ng benepisyo na matagal na nilang tinatanggap,” he said.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">(We cannot even give workers good wages, especially the minimum wage earners, and then we’ll remove the benefits they have been receiving for so long)</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">In a separate statement, Ka Leody De Guzman of Partido Lakas ng Masa called Escudero&#x27;s call elitist and out of touch with the daily lives of most Filipinos.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“Hindi lamang para sa middle class kundi para sa mga manggagawang naglalaan ng panahon sa kanilang pamilya, mga kamag-anak, at mga kaibigan [ang mga holiday]. Sa pangkaraniwan, ito rin ang panahon para ipagpahinga ang katawan at isipan ng mga empleyado mula sa sobrang pagtatrabaho,&quot; he said.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">(Holidays are not just for the middle class, it is also a time for workers to spend time with family and friends. These are usually the time that employees use to rest their minds and bodies from overwork)</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">De Guzman said lowering the costs of power and of basic goods, addressing corruption and making commuting easier will have better effects on increasing poverty than having fewer holidays.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">According to Philippine Statistics Authority data, there were at least 1.96 million Overseas Filipino Workers in 2022.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Thousands of workers leave the country every day to seek better opportunities abroad, according to migrant workers&#x27; rights organization Migrante.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YhtUqpHzTUU?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>“Andami nating kumpanya na gustong mataas ang productivity, ang kanila namang machinery ay 1960s pa,” TUCP Secretary General Arnel Dolendo said.</p>

“Andami nating kumpanya na gustong mataas ang productivity, ang kanila namang machinery ay 1960s pa,” TUCP Secretary General Arnel Dolendo said.

TUCP: Leave holidays alone, invest in workers’ training and equipment to boost productivity

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TUCP: Leave holidays alone, invest in workers’ training and equipment to boost productivity

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 11, 2024 12:12 PM PHT

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Updated Oct 16, 2024 10:42 AM PHT

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Trade Union Congress of the Philippines

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