House committee works out hitches in compressed work hours bill
THE HOUSE of Representatives subcommittee on labor standards took up Bill 1904 on Monday, working out issues relating to overtime pay under the proposed compressed work week scheme. The author of the bill, Baguio Rep. Mark O. Go, acknowledged the need to specify that overtime rates will be paid for work hours beyond 40 or 48 per week. “(In excess of) 40 or 48 hours (per week), you will be paid overtime. The working hours per day under the compressed work week is 10 hours. In excess of 10 hours, you will be paid overtime. It is not spelled out in Section 87 but we can include that,” he said. Department of Labor and Employment officials also cited the need to amend the Labor Code, which provides that overtime pay is due after eight hours of work in a day. House Bill No. 1904 seeks to amend Articles 83, 87 and 91 of the Labor Code of the Philippines to “institutionalize the compressed work week scheme as it proves to promote competitiveness, efficiency and productivity both in the labor and industry.” The subcommittee has scheduled another hearing to further discuss the bill. — Genshen L. Espedido
