JAN 30, 2016

NR # 4095

Bill ensures workers claims in case of companys bankruptcy

Workers may still claim wages in case of bankruptcy of employers even without
formal declaration of insolvency under a bill awaiting Senates approval.
Workers should be given first lien in case of bankruptcy to satisfy their money
claims against the business. Such money claims should not require formal declaration of
bankruptcy or insolvency to save workers and their families from slipping into the
quagmire of mere subsistence or poverty, said Rep. Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza
(Partylist TUCP).
Mendoza sought to protect the rights of the workers to be the first lien in case of
bankruptcy of the employer in House Bill 5308, which has been approved by the House of
Representatives on third and final reading and transmitted to the Senate for action.
The bill requires that in the event of bankruptcy of the employer, the workers
should be given the first preference as regards their wages and other monetary claims,
Mendoza said.
Mendoza said the bill likewise provides that unpaid wages and other monetary
claims shall be paid in full even without the formal declaration of bankruptcy or
insolvency.
At present, Mendoza said workers are at a disadvantage when employers start nonpayment of their wages, benefits and other entitlements in cases of employers bankruptcy.
This should not be the case because the Constitution mandates the State to protect
the rights of workers and promote their welfare, Mendoza said.
Mendoza said Presidential Decree No. 442, otherwise known as the Labor Code of
the Philippines, declares as a State policy to provide protection to labor.
One such protection to labor is to satisfy their claims against the employers
business, Mendoza said. (30) maprs