By: Jomarie A. Billones
ROXAS CITY, Capiz – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Region 6 recently ordered the Capiz Capitol-ran Roxas Memorial Provincial Hospital (RMPH) to pay the benefits of 15 security guards hired by the administration of former Gov. Antonio del Rosario.
According to a DOLE-6 order, RMPH hired the workers via Blackwing Security Services (BSS) from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019.
But in an investigation, the labor department indicated that RMPH and BSS failed to pay the right wages and other benefits of the workers totalling P1,436,805.77.
Apart from underpayment of wages, the unpaid benefits include regular holiday pay, special holiday premium, 13th month pay, non-provision of 5-day Service Incentive Leave (SIL), non-payment of Night Shift Differential (NSD) and premium pay for rest day, and non-coverage of PhilHealth and PAG-IBIG benefits.
After the two parties failed to arrive at an amicable settlement, a “complaint inspection” of the hospital was undertaken by the labor inspector who, on February 15, 2019, issued a Notice of Results (NR) for violations of the General Labor Standards (GLS).
In a case conference held on April 8, 2019, RMPH, as principal respondent, claimed that it paid the average salary of P3,000 to P3,500. Unfortunately, RMPH failed to provide or show any document to support its claim.
“Moreover, granting that the complainants received such amount, it was not clear whether such amount is part of the basic salary of the workers and if the said amount was enjoyed by the same parties on a monthly basis,” DOLE-6 added in its order.
