Gifts or wages? The plural regulation of workers’ annual holiday bonuses in Southeast Asia

The payment of annual holiday bonuses to workers is a common practice in parts of Southeast Asia, and around the world. These bonuses have emerged through custom and practice in support of festivities associated with major annual religious and cultural holidays, such as Idul Fitri (Eid al-Fitr), Christmas, and Lunar New Year (Tet). This article comparatively explores long-run histories of the regulation of annual holiday bonuses in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Taking a regulatory pluralism approach, it traces their emergence and transformations and examines the extent to which these payments have come to be regulated by law and custom. All three countries display continuing strong influence of custom or informal norms in determining payment of these bonuses, enforcement processes and the resolution of related disputes.