PNB employees demand abolition of 'forced leave'

The Philippine National Bank Employees Association has called for the full abolition of the management-imposed "forced leave" over the unused leave credits of an employee.

If not abolished, then put this on a voluntary basis in which an employee has the option to go on "forced leave" or not, said the group in a position paper submitted to the management yesterday,

The position paper was signed and submitted to the PNB's top executives, copies of which were distributed to the members during the start of the group's three-day national convention at the Eco-Tech Center in barangay Lahug yesterday.

"Every employee's leave credit is mandated by law as fruits of our employment in this institution, therefore, it is our 'property'. Hence, mandating forced leaves with vitiated consent by reason of company policy is unconstitutional," the position paper stated.

PNB's leave of absence was embodied in the labor-management Collective Bargaining Agreement, which also limits the number of unused vacation and sick leave credits to 45 days and 65 days, respectively.

Under such agreement, an employee may not use these leave credits for "monetization", or conversion to cash credits within the cut-off date of February 15, each year.

The bank management, however, ordered each employee to take a mandatory leave of absence for ten straight days, at the option of an employee on when to go on such leave within the year, otherwise that same number of days would be deducted or forfeited from the earned leave credits.

Supposedly, this was a management prerogative that was originally intended for audit and internal control purposes only.

The employees' group protested saying that a "forced leave" has contradicted the provisions of the CBA because it denies an employee his or her compensation benefits that include the value of leave credits that could be converted to cash the next year or upon retirement.

The CBA also stated that "such benefits and privileges shall not be withdrawn if a similar benefit or privilege is required under the Labor Code," the group's position paper further said.

It added that a "forced leave" is contrary to the Constitution's Article 3 Section 8, which states: "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of laws." - Gregg M. Rubio