National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP) National President Roland de la Cruz called on Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III to immediately implement measures that would benefit workers amidst the ongoing community quarantine imposed due to the coronavirus disease, or Covid-19.
De la Cruz cited DOLE Department Circular No. 01 Series of 2019, which provided “guidelines on the issuance of DOLE certification as a requirement for availment by eligible Social Security System (SSS) member-employees, including kasambahay and overseas Filipino workers, who were involuntarily separated from work.”
“This policy can also be availed by workers affected who were not able to travel to work caused by the government led community quarantine,” de la Cruz explained. “DOLE unemployment insurance is a good measure as it can be availed by workers but, knowing existing procedures [for] the availment of services, I call on DOLE to provide a special lane, or fast lane, for unemployment insurance applications in relation to Covid-19.”
“These are extraordinary times which require extraordinary measures,” he added.
De la Cruz also sought the implementation of proposed “Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program,” or CAMP, which was presented last week to the members of the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council as a financial assistance mechanism to provide additional financial assistance to workers during instances of work stoppage in relation to Covid-19. In addition, DOLE recently issued Labor Advisory No. 9 Series of 2020 and set forth guidelines on the implementation of flexible work arrangements as a remedial measure to the ongoing outbreak of the coronavirus disease.
“This advisory encourages employers and employees to explore flexible working arrangements or alternative work arrangements in order to cushion and mitigate the effects of the loss of income of the employees,” the NACUSIP official explained. “Flexible work arrangements should be exercised with extreme caution so as not to be used to circumvent workers rights.”
“I warn employers not to abuse this Covid-19 crisis in order to suppress workers’ rights to security of tenure and freedom of association as such may be construed as unfair labor practice, which is administrative, civil and criminal in nature,” he added/DGB,WDJ