DOLE issues pay rules for Black Saturday

The Department of Labor and Employment issued Tuesday the pay rules for Black Saturday, which President Benigno Aquino III declared a special non-working day. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz reminded employers to observe the core labor standards during the special non-working day. "If Black Saturday, April 23, 2011 is worked, the employee is entitled to 130 percent of his daily rate for the first eight hours, and to an additional 30 percent of his or her hourly rate on the said day for work performed in excess of eight hours," Baldoz said in a news release posted on the DOLE website Tuesday afternoon. But she said that if the day is unworked, the worker or employee is not entitled to any payment, unless there is a favorable company policy, practice or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) granting payment for special days even if not worked If the day is worked and it falls on the employee's rest day, the employee or worker is entitled for the first eight hours to 150 percent of his or her regular daily rate; and for work performed in excess of eight hours, plus 30 percent of his or her hourly rate on the said day. In issuing Proclamation 150, President Aquino noted that Black Saturday "has been traditionally declared a special non-working holiday." "The observance of Holy Week is one of our people’s most cherished traditions. Our people must be given the full and uninterrupted opportunity to ponder on the significance of the Holy Week and to properly observe its traditions with religious fervor, without prejudice to public interest," he said. — RSJ, GMA News