Appropriate holiday pay

Kindly rectify an erroneous item appearing in the news article, “Workers to get additional pay” (on page 1 of The Philippine STAR, Oct. 30, 2007 edition), in line with the appropriate pay rules for the nationwide special non-working days on October 29, November 1 and 2, 2007.

Pursuant to the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Labor Advisory To All Employers in the Private Sector dated October 18, 2007 (a copy of which is herewith attached), if a special non-working day falls on an employee’s rest day but is worked, the pay in the first eight (8) hours of work is “150 percent of the regular daily rate.”

The above news report, however, said that, if an employee renders  service during a special holiday which falls on his rest day, he or she will get 260 percent of his regular pay — which under the law is incorrect, and for which reason we request prompt rectification to avoid confusion and false impression that the news article may generate particularly among the workers. — ROMEO C. LAGMAN, Undersecretary, Department of Labor