Marikina also first to adopt Covid-19 labor-protection ordinance

Aside from being the first among the local government units (LGUs) to have Covid-19 testing facility, the city of Marikina is also the first to adopt a labor-protection ordinance aimed at mitigating the negative impact of the current pandemic among workers.

Sponsored by Councilor Renato Magtubo, City Ordinance No. 027 Series of 2020, also known as COVID 19 Pandemic Workers’ Welfare Ordinance of 2020, was adopted by the City Council last March 18, 2020.  Magtubo is also the National Chairman of Partido Manggagawa (PM) and one of the convenors of the labor coalition Nagkaisa.

The ordinance aims to protect jobs and income for workers employed in companies and establishments operating in Marikina City and to help the city government in its effort to contain and effectively address the effects of COVID 19 pandemic to the population of Marikina City.

The ordinance recommends several measures to adopt in the event a company or an establishment’s operation is affected by Covid-19 pandemic. These include a dialogue between workers and employer both in the unionized and non-unionized establishments. Parties to the dialogue may seek assistance of the city’s LRPESO, the City Mayor, the Chairperson of the Committee on Labor and Capital Relations of the city council or from the representative of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on their impact assessment and determination of appropriate measures to undertake.

Magtubo stressed that impact assessment is very important at this point in time so that employers’ actions such as reduction of working hours, work rotation, temporary reduction of workforce or company shutdown would not be imposed without providing workers some level of protection such as paid leave, return to work assurance, and access to government assistance or subsidies. The ordinance also encourages work-from-home arrangements without diminution of wages and benefits. Personal protective equipment must also be provided by employers for workers who will remain in the frontline. 

The ordinance does not yet cover workers in the informal sector whom Magtubo said are the ones needing wide range level of social protection. But just the same, he urged the city government to conduct a city-wide impact assessment for this huge sector so that they get priority from national subsidies and LGU assistance.

“Emergency measures are always met by bureaucratic gridlock so that the more an LGU is prepared in knowing the problems down the line and getting the inputs of local communities which is a very important aspect of crisis response, the more it can respond quickly and effectively to their particular needs,” said Magtubo.

And in reaction to the Bayanihan Act, the labor leader echoed Nagkaisa’s call that the national bayanihan must be matched by ‘katapatan’ on the part of the Chief executive and his implementing agencies while the people should maintain ‘pagbabantay’ or a strong level of collective vigilance so that emergency powers are put in check.

“Karapatan nating makatanggap ng tulong mula sa gubyerno. Karapatan din nating hindi maabuso,” concluded Magtubo.

25 March 2020

DOLE aid to workers: “Small token na, unreachable pa”

Photo from Manila Bulletin

With closed roads and empty offices, how could a home-quarantined worker avail of the P5,000 token assistance announced by DOLE early this week?

Nobody knows and nobody can, according to the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM).

“Not only is the aid very small. It is also practically unreachable,” stated PM Chair Renato Magtubo, explaining that given the lockdown measures enforced by security forces on the roads and the paralysis in the non-frontline government offices, the chance of getting this relief while on quarantine is almost impossible within that period.

The DOLE guidelines, Magtubo said, provide for a two-week processing time in approving employers’ request for assistance based on flexi-work arrangements they will undergo as required by DOLE.

But the labor leader said, that is only possible if employers would really apply for the program out of concern for their workers. What would happen if employers and their staffs are also locked out? And assuming their applications are approved, how can workers avail of that aid if they are not under ATM payroll or with most of banks also in skeletal operations?

There are so many questions to ask, but for Magtubo, a labor leader and who is now a city councilor of Marikina, the draconian restrictions imposed by the lockdown policy must be tamed by the ease in availing social assistance in this time of crisis.

“Napakaliit na nga ng ayuda, long distance love affair pa ang sistema,” lamented Magtubo.

One option the PM is proposing is for Sec. Bello together with all other labor officials to join local officials in distributing this aid package as DOLE’s other program of providing temporary employment for the informal sector affected by the lockdown is likewise implemented at the barangay level.

“But the most logical way and which impact is more universal for those in the formal sector is for DOLE to order all employers to provide paid quarantine leaves to all their workers. In this way the state fund intended for them can be utilized to assist informal workers such as displaced drivers, vendors, community help workers, among others,” concluded Magtubo. 

19 March 2020

Lockdown order lack guarantees for workers’ welfare, civil liberties

Photo from autoindustriya.com

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asked that guarantees be put in place in the so-called ‘community quarantine’ imposed on Metro Manila in order to protect workers’ welfare and civil liberties.

“President Duterte’s order to lockdown Metro Manila for 30 days opens the way for workers’ rights and civil liberties to be violated. Freedom of assembly should not be sacrificed since community organizations and civil society groups should be able to meet and deliberate on urgent matters including a proper covid response,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

He added that “We wanted to hear President Duterte mobilize public and private resources, especially health personnel, to combat covid but instead all we heard is the mobilization of police and soldiers. Will checkpoints be manned by health workers with test kits or just police with guns?”

Magtubo explained that “Workers’ welfare is also bound to be sacrificed in the lockdown order that lacks clear guidelines and a labor-first perspective. Workers living outside NCR are supposed to allowed to enter and leave the capital as long as they have company ID’s. But informalization of labor—like the practice of endo—means there are numerous workers without proper ID’s and employment contracts. Many construction workers who are employed on an informal basis do not have proper documentation. Finally, informal workers like street vendors obviously do not have ID’s. The lockdown means they will not be able to travel to work and earn a living which will lead to health issues and vulnerability to covid.”

The group reiterated its call for the DOLE to issue an order mandating a worker-first policy on the employment impact of covid. “We do not accept management prerogative in implementing dismissals or flexible arrangements like forced leaves or work rotation. First of all, the DOLE must issue a determination that there is a real impact on the company. After which, any flexible work arrangement must be negotiated with duly-elected workers’ representatives or the union in case the company is organized,” Magtubo insisted.

 The group also proposed the following concrete measures:

1.      Paid leave for workers to be shouldered by employers and the government;

2.      Pay for workers put on forced quarantine to be shouldered by employers and the government;

3.      Implement work from home arrangements, in applicable jobs, without diminution of wages and benefits;

4.      Provision of personal protective equipment for all health and allied workers in the frontline of covid response;

5.      Living pension for senior citizens since the elderly are more prone to infection;

6.      Shift build-build-build budget to health in order to build more hospitals, provide testing and treatment facilities, hire more health workers;

7.      Health tax on the wealthy—as part of CITIRA—to fund universal health care.”

March 13, 2020

DOLE must issue order on covid embodying worker-first policy—labor group

Photo from Inquirer.net

In the face of reports of actual and potential mass layoffs due to covid, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to issue a department order on covid embodying a “worker-first” policy. “In view of DOLE’s own report of 300 employees jobless due to closure of tourism companies and more than 4,000 workers put on flexible work arrangements, a DOLE order is an urgent necessity. But order must put the interests of workers first. Manggagawa naman,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

He added that “We do not accept management prerogative in implementing dismissals or flexible arrangements like forced leaves or work rotation. First of all, the DOLE must issue a determination that there is a real impact on the company. After which, any flexible work arrangement must be negotiated with duly-elected workers’ representatives or the union in case the company is organized.”

The group stated thousands of workers are affected by actual and threatened mass layoffs, starting with the high profile dismissal of 300 employees at Philippine Airlines allegedly due to the impact of the covid epidemic. PM’s chapter in Cebu has reported that workers are being laid off or put on forced leaves in the Mactan Cebu ecozone. Likewise, hotels and restaurants in Region 7 are reeling from reduction in tourism.

Magtubo insisted that the DOLE’s existing advisory on flexible work arrangement must be replaced with a department order. “An order has the force of regulation that companies are mandated to follow while an advisory has no teeth and practically useless. Violation of the order should be subject to penalty.” he explained.

The group also proposed the following concrete measures:

1.      Paid leave for workers to be shouldered by employers and the government;

2.      Pay for workers put on forced quarantine to be shouldered by employers and the government;

3.      Implement work from home arrangements, in applicable jobs, without diminution of wages and benefits;

4.      Provision of personal protective equipment for all health and allied workers in the frontline of covid response;

5.      Living pension for senior citizens since the elderly are more prone to infection;

6.      Shift build-build-build budget to health in order to build more hospitals, provide testing and treatment facilities, hire more health workers;

7.      Health tax on the wealthy—as part of CITIRA—to fund universal health care.

March 11, 2020

DOLE asked to issue order on covid embodying worker-first policy

Photo from Philstar.com

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to issue a department order on covid embodying a “worker-first” policy. “In the face of an increasing number of mass layoffs by companies due allegedly to covid, a DOLE order is an urgent necessity. But order must put the interests of workers first. Manggagawa naman,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

He added that “We do not accept management prerogative in implementing dismissals or flexible arrangements like forced leaves or work rotation. First of all, the DOLE must issue a determination that there is a real impact on the company. After which, any flexible work arrangement must be negotiated with duly-elected workers’ representatives or the union in case the company is organized.”

The group stated thousands of workers are affected by actual and threatened mass layoffs, starting with the high profile dismissal of 300 employees at Philippine Airlines allegedly due to the impact of the covid epidemic. PM’s chapter in Cebu has reported that workers are being laid off or put on forced leaves in the Mactan Cebu ecozone. Likewise, hotels and restaurants in Region 7 are reeling from reduction in tourism.

Magtubo insisted that the DOLE’s existing advisory on flexible work arrangement must be replaced with a department order. “An order has the force of regulation that companies are mandated to follow while an advisory has no teeth and practically useless. Violation of the order should be subject to penalty.” he explained.

The group also proposed the following concrete measures:

1.      Paid leave for workers to be shouldered by employers and the government;

2.      Pay for workers put on forced quarantine to be shouldered by employers and the government;

3.      Implement work from home arrangements, in applicable jobs, without diminution of wages and benefits;

4.      Provision of personal protective equipment for all health and allied workers in the frontline of covid response;

5.      Living pension for senior citizens since the elderly are more prone to infection;

6.      Shift build-build-build budget to health in order to build more hospitals, provide testing and treatment facilities, hire more health workers;

7.      Health tax on the wealthy—as part of CITIRA—to fund universal health care.”

March 10, 2020