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| TUCP President Raymond Mendoza (TUCP Party-List / MANILA BULLETIN) |
“Because there are no specific mandatory guidelines regarding such life and death scenario, there is a very urgent need to create a regulation or mandatory policy standards protocols now that protects the workers’ health and safety and guides employees and employers on what to do when emergency disasters and calamities occur during working hours,” said TUCP President Raymond Mendoza.
Mendoza said some companies adopt their own evacuation protocols and hire safety officers and safety evacuation plans voluntarily, but many “enterprises do not have or are not even aware of such employees evacuation procedures.”
“Most of the victims in workplace disasters are the rank-and-file employees (cashiers, casino employees, salesladies, security guards ) who were made to hang on to their work and remain in their stations waiting for specific orders from managers, supervisors and company owners amid the quickly evolving mishap,” said Mendoza.
“A split second-time delay in reaction to such dangerous situation further exposes workers to workplace death and injury,” he added.
The labor group said that it received reports from workers, through social media, seeking help and advice after their employers reportedly refused to evacuate them during the earthquake last Monday.
“Though Republic Act 11058 or ‘An Act Strengthening Compliance With Occupational Safety and Health Standards And Providing Penalties Thereof’ mandates employers and contractors to provide a safe and healthy workplace and that it gives employees the right to refuse to work in an unsafe workplace, there’s still an imperative to create a specific implementing rules and regulations of the law that governs this emergency scenario such as earthquakes,” the group said. - By Analou De Vera
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