Senate OKs bill on gov’t workers’ night differential pay on second reading

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Wednesday approved on second reading a bill seeking to grant night shift differential pay to employees in the government service as well as those in government-owned or controlled corporations.

Under Senate Bill No. 643, night shift differential pay shall be given to government employees who work beyond their regular working hours.

“Not all government employees enjoy such benefit. Most of the government employees who work beyond the usual working hours are only paid overtime pay,” Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., chair of the Senate civil service committee, said in the bill’s explanatory note.

The bill aims to give qualified government employees a night shift differential at a rate not exceeding 20 percent of the hourly basic rate for each hour of work performed between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the following day.

However, public health workers who are already covered by Republic Act No. 7305 or the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers are not covered by the bill.

Government workers whose services are required, or are on call, 24 hours a day such as uniformed personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) are also not covered.

Under the Labor Code of the Philippines, night shift differential is defined as “not less than 10 percent of his regular wage for each hour of work performed between 10 o’clock in the evening and 6 o’clock in the morning.”

This wage-related benefit is given to private employees as mandated by the Labor Code, the bill noted.

“Public sector employees also deserve the benefit we give to their private counterparts,” Revilla’s explanatory note further read.

Following the adoption of several committees and individual amendments, the Senate approved the measure on second reading.