Weekly Pay Scheme Introduces Cebu City to Reduce Casual Workers’ Financial Burdens

Cebu City shifts to weekly salary releases to casual workers debt, increase financial stability to reduce dependency on loan sharks.

The Cebu City Government has started paying its casual workers on a weekly basis in an effort to prevent them from collecting more debt. The Human Resource Development Office (HRDO) specifies that the weekly payment system, which is already established helps over 2,006 casual workers across various departments.

This system aims to stop workers from becoming dependent on loan sharks and collecting debt, which is a problem that City Hall has observed among its workers for many years. The new strategy, according to HRDO chief Henry Tomalabcad, agrees with a City Council resolution that directs the office to speed up payment procedures in order to ensure prompt payment of salary for work order and casual workers.

The final stages of the implementation, a consultative meeting with the City Treasurer's Office (CTO) and Management Information and Computer Services (MICS) took place on October 27. Additionally, departments were reminded in a memo dated October 27 to follow closely to the new schedule, which covers casual workers with at least 22 days of earned leave credits. Weekly payment is planned every Friday.

Cebu City is presently the only local government unit (LGU) applying a weekly salary release for casual workers. Additional LGUs still follow the standard twice-a-month system. Although the new policy may need added paperwork and compliance steps from departments, its long-term profits balance the administrative adjustments. The majority of HRDO's casual workers have already received their first weekly payment under the new system. Additionally, the benefit guarantees that workers are not dependent on unofficial lenders that demand high interest rates, while also maintaining financial stability among workers.