MANILA — The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) on Thursday lauded the passage on third and final reading of House Bill (HB) 6770, which seeks to increase the service incentive leave (SIL) from five to 10 days.
“In behalf of workers, we express our appreciation to lawmakers who sponsored the bill and we are looking forward to its enactment into law,” ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said in a statement.
With this, he noted that if the proposed measure is approved, it would help boost employees’ productivity.
“Once it is enacted, it would motivate workers to be more productive in their work and remain loyal to the company,” Tanjusay said.
“We urged more employers to convert the unused SIL of their employees into cash, grocery items or other perks to help their employees cope with incredibly rising prices of goods and services,” he added.
At the same time, he is hoping that President Rodrigo Duterte will approve the law before the end of the year.
“We expect the bill to hurdle the bicam (bicameral) committee sooner without opposition and look forward to President enactment into law before the end of the year,” Tanjusay said.
The SIL is one of non-wage benefits given by employers to their employees as a form of gratitude for the years of service the employees rendered to make the company or business grow and thrive.
Article 95 of the Labor Code mandates employers to give a yearly service incentive leave of five days with pay to a worker who has been in service within 12 months.
It also provides that SIL is commutable, and is convertible to cash if not used or exhausted at the end of the year. (Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
