 |
| 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
No comments:
Post a Comment