Night-shift differential pay for Cebu City government employees pushed

The Cebu City Hall. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor Jose Lorenzo Abellanosa has drafted and filed an ordinance granting night-shift differential pay to some Cebu City government employees.

The City council, during its regular session on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, referred Abellanosa’s proposed ordinance entitled “Granting of Night-Shift Differential to Employees of Cebu City Government and Appropriating Funds Therefor,” to the council’s Committee on Laws, Ordinances, and Styling for review.

Abellanosa’s proposed ordinance will cover all employees of the Cebu City government, including but not limited to the Department of Public Services, Cebu City Transportation Office, Cebu City Treasurer’s Office, and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, among others.

This is irrespective of their employment status, whether permanent, casual, temporary, or contractual, whose regular schedule of work fall partly or wholly between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. of the following day.

However, he specified that those employees whose office hours schedule fall between 6 a.m to 6 p.m are not covered by his proposed ordinance, as services rendered beyond the regular eight-hour work schedules are paid overtime pay following existing laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations.

Moreover, employees who are covered and enjoyed the benefits under the Magna Carta of Public Health Works, and employees whose services are required, or are on call, 24 hours a day (as may be determined by the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Budget and Management are also not covered by his proposed ordinance) are also not covered by the ordinance.

“Republic Act No. 11701 provides that it is mandatory to pay night shift differential to government employees occupying position items from Division Chief and below, or equivalent whether the nature of their employment is permanent, contractual, temporary, or casual at a rate not exceeding 20 percent,” reads a portion of his proposed resolution.

The councilor said that the rate of the grant must not exceed 20 percent of the hourly basic rate of the employees.

And when the schedule of working hours falls partly within 6 p.m. to 6 a.m, the night-shift differential pay shall be paid only for the hours within 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. of the following day.

“To qualify for the night-shift differential pay, the official working hours shall be prescribed by the department head or officer-in-charge of the office concerned taking into consideration the nature of the services and the necessity for an official shift outside the ordinary working hours prescribed by the Civil Service Commission, provided that such official working hours is observed for a period of at least 10 working days,” the councilor said in his resolution.

The funding to cover the ordinance will be charged against the savings on Personal Services Account of the department in its approved 2023 Annual and Supplemental Budgets.

/bmjo

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