No Christmas bonus, 13th month in 2,000 companies

Some 2,000 companies nationwide will most likely be unable to give their workers the traditional Christmas bonus and 13th month pay this year because of financial difficulties.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday that some 200,000 workers could be affected as employers continue to reel from a global economic slowdown.

DOLE officials noted that last year, 1,971 companies nationwide failed to give yearend bonuses and the mandated 13th month pay, which is equivalent to a worker’s one month salary.

Earlier, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) reported that some of its members could not afford to give bonuses this year.

"Some of them cannot even afford to give the required P30 emergency cost of living allowance, much more Christmas bonuses and the 13th month pay," ECOP president Donald Dee said.

The moderate Trade Union Congress of the Phi-lippines (TUCP) has threatened to sue employers who fail to grant the mandated 13th month pay.

"If they don’t pay their workers their 13th month, they will have to face the penalty provided under the law," TUCP spokesperson Alex Aguilar said.

He called on workers to report to TUCP any company that violates labor laws so that appropriate legal action can be taken against erring firms.

In another development, DOLE said yesterday that over 100,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan face a 25 percent cut in their salaries due to a new labor law.

Labor Undersecretary Manuel Imson said the Taiwanese government is all set to implement a law that would require employers to deduct a maximum NT$4,000 from the monthly salary of all foreign workers.

Of the 109,000 OFWs in Taiwan, a majority are factory workers earning NT$15,840, or P24,393 a month.

Imson said the Philippines and other countries have already expressed their objection to the new law on the employment of foreigners.

"The Philippine government even submitted a formal letter requesting the Taiwan Council on Labor Affairs not to implement any salary reduction, but we failed to convince them," he said.

He noted, however, that they were able to negotiate for a significantly lower cut.

"The original amount was even bigger than NT$4,000," Imson said.