THE DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (DOLE) XI reiterated compliance with the daily minimum wage increase to avoid double indemnity and criminal liability.
“Once an establishment would be visited by the visitorial and enforcement force of the agency, you have to comply, otherwise you will be responsible for double indemnity or face criminal liability,” Atty. Randolph Pensoy, DOLE XI regional director. said during Kapehan sa Davao on Monday, Nov. 4.
Double indemnity refers to the penalty equivalent to twice the unpaid wages owed to employees due to non-payment by an employer of the prescribed increases or adjustments in the wage rate pursuant to Republic Act No. 8188.
However, payment of indemnity shall not absolve the employer from the criminal liability.
RA 8188 also provided that any person, corporation, trust, firm, partnership, association, or entity that refuses or fails to pay any of the prescribed increases or adjustments in the wage rates shall be punished by a fine not less than P25,000 nor more than P100,000 or imprisonment of 2-4 years.
Most of the non-complaints according to their monitoring are those micro enterprises, who expressed they cannot fulfill the minimum wage.
Pensoy said they assist them so that they can be compliant with the labor standards, through the Technical Advisory Visit program of the agency.
He stressed the compliance rate matters with the visitorial and enforcement engagement of the agency.
Pensoy added their inspectors are limited in number, urging the public to report any cases of non-compliance of employers.
“Once we receive the complaint, we see to it that we will [visit] the area by our labor inspectors,” he said.
Earlier this year, the Regional Tripartite Wage Productivity Board approved a P38 daily minimum salary adjustment for Davao Region, which was rolled out in two tranches- March 6 and Sept. 1.
With the adjustment, starting Sept. 1, the minimum wages for non-agriculture and agricultural sectors were raised to P481 and P476, respectively.
Photos by Bing Gonzales
