MANILA, Philippines – Voting 20-0, the Senate on Monday, December 9, approved on 3rd and final reading the bill that would grant night shift differential pay to government employees.

Senate Bill (SB) No. 643 proposes to grant additional pay to all government employees who work beyond regular hours, including employees of government owned and controlled corporations.

Under SB No. 643, the night shift differential pay would be set at a rate not exceeding 20% of an employee’s hourly rate, for each hour of work done between 6 pm and 6 am.

The additional pay would be sourced from an agency’s personnel services budget.

Under the Labor Code, only private sector employees have night pay, which amounts to 10% of a worker’s regular wage, paid per hour of work between 10 pm and 6 am.

The counterpart measure at the House of Representatives is pending at the committee level.

Firearms, transport safety

On Monday, the Senate passed two other measures on final reading as well:

• SB No. 1155 which would extend the validity of firearms registration
• SB No. 1077 which would establish the National Transportation Safety Board

SB No. 1155 seeks to amend Republic Act No. 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms Ammunition Regulation Act to extend the registration of firearms from 4 years to 5 years.

It also seeks to extend the permit to carry firearms outside of residence from one year to two years from the date of approval of the application, unless revoked.

Meanwhile, SB No. 1077 proposes to create a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that would perform the following functions, if passed into law:

• conduct independent investigations on transportation incidents – air, highway, rail, and maritime incidents
• support safety programs
• assess operating practices and regulations of government agencies involved in the transportation sector

The proposed NTSB would have 7 members headed by a chairperson, who will have a term of 5 years and a rank of department secretary. It would be an attached agency to the Office of the President.

Senator Grace Poe, the sponsor of the measure, said the creation of the proposed NTSB is “long overdue.”

“With thorough, timely, and substantial investigation, we will be able to prevent those accidents from happening again and give justice to the victims and their families,” Poe said.

In the 17th Congress, the transportation safety board bill was approved at the committee level, but was only sponsored in the plenary. – Rappler.com