W.L. Foods Corporation in Valenzuela City is one of the companies reported by its workers to Raffy Tulfo in Action (RTIA) for alleged unfair labor practices.
As a result, RTIA relayed the complaint to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which immediately conducted an inspection together with the Senate team of Senator Raffy Tulfo, Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment.
“I had been with the company for over a year but am still classified as a casual worker and received only ₱400 per day in wages.”
During the inspection, DOLE and Tulfo’s Senate team confirmed the complaints upon arriving at W.L. Foods. One employee interviewed by DOLE said she has been with the company for over a year but were still classified as a casual worker and received only ₱400 per day in wages.
Some of the workers on a piece-rate (pakyawan) basis, earning ₱700 a day, stated that they had to work up to 12 hours to earn that amount. However, according to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), W.L. Foods is not on the list of companies authorized by the NWPC to implement a piece-rate system.
“An employee working 12 hours a day should be earning ₱1,048.”
This means that for a long time, piece-rate workers at W.L. Foods were effectively being underpaid for overtime — losing around ₱348 per day. Based on DOLE’s computation using the minimum wage, an employee working 12 hours a day should be earning ₱1,048.
The legislator immediately requested that DOLE deepen its investigation into W.L. Foods for other possible labor violations.
The lawmaker also mandated the company to provide back wages to its workers who were underpaid due to the unauthorized piece-rate system and those classified as casual workers receiving below minimum wage despite being in the company for a year or more.
DOLE, on the other hand, ordered W.L. Foods to immediately stop implementing the piece-rate system until it secures proper authorization from the NWPC.
Meanwhile, during the Senate consultative meeting led by Tulfo, he told the legal counsel of W.L. Foods to remind their client to settle its obligations to its employees, which the lawyer agreed to do.
