Group bats for flexible work arrangements amid Covid-19 threat

He also asked employers to relax tardiness rules as the majority of workers are commuting to work and are subject to stricter biosecurity protocols in public transportation terminals, vehicles and in their workplace. (Unsplash photo)

MANILA – A labor group on Saturday urged workers and employers to adopt flexible work arrangements amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) threat.

“Flexible work arrangements, telecommuting, and remote work and work-from-home schemes, whenever possible, must be agreed upon by employees and employers. And as soon as they both agreed to adopt it, there should be no diminution of wages and benefits,” Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) president Raymond Mendoza said in a statement.

He also asked employers to relax tardiness rules as the majority of workers are commuting to work and are subject to stricter biosecurity protocols in public transportation terminals, vehicles and in their workplace.

Aside from bilateral dialogue between labor and management, he said this is now the time for both parties to be more creative and open to the possibility of adopting such a scheme.

“We call upon workers and employers to together confront panic, chaos, and discord by communicating and cooperating with one another in order to keep the operation of the business afloat and to keep the production of the enterprise viable without reducing the wages and benefits and without damaging the rights and welfare of the workers despite of the threat of risk of exposure to the coronavirus public outbreak to both the business and the employee,” Mendoza said.

Earlier, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) suggested to companies to adopt flexible work arrangements.

It said it is a better alternative than the outright termination of the services of the employees or the total closure of the establishment.

The scheme involves reduced workdays, rotation, and adjusted working hours.

The DOLE also reported that 35 tourism-related establishments, covering more than 3,000 workers, in Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Soccsksargen regions have adopted flexible work arrangements.

On Saturday, President Rodrigo Duterte agreed to declare a state of public health emergency in the country, following the first confirmed case of local transmission of Covid-19.

Duterte made the decision upon the recommendation of the Department of Health (DOH) to mobilize the government’s resources, ease processes, and intensify reporting about Covid-19.