by Catherine Pillas –
“One of the biggest constraints right now is the number of non-working holidays. The coming of the pope is exciting, of course, but the impact on American businesses is tremendous in terms of overtime costs and scheduling,” AmCham Executive Director Ebb Hinchliffe said in a phone interview.
The government has declared, through Executive Order (EO) 936, January 15, 16 and 19 as non-working holidays in National Capital Region on top of the declared total 17 holidays, (nonworking, regular and special) scheduled for 2015
Hinchliffe said the biggest impact, so far, has been on fast-moving consumer goods firms and cites that members’ delivery and supply schedules have been disrupted with the sudden declaration of the non-working holidays in January on occasion of the pope’s visit.
“We are going to make some proposals to the government of extending some kind of flexibility to businesses, wherein the legal requirement to pay can be relaxed on some of the nonworking holidays in a year, for example,” Hinchliffe said
The latest labor advisory issued by the Department of Labor and Employment reiterates that employers must pay an additional 30 percent on top of an employees’ daily rate in the first 8 hours during a nonworking holiday. Higher rates apply if the employee goes on overtime.
Hinchliffe said the study is now being conducted and they expect to finish it by end of the first quarter. Afterward it will be presented to the economic Cabinet cluster.
AmCham has long countered the number of holidays declared by the government, deeming them excessive in a previous position paper and recommending a review of the policy by the government.
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