Workers’ groups urge gov’t, airlines to implement safety protocols for airport, seaport workers to curb coronavirus risk

As government authorities step up bio-security efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus, the Associated Labor Unions (ALU) has called on the government and airline industry players to ensure that safety and health protection protocols are working not just for passengers but also for cabin crew and airport employees.

The country’s biggest federation of unions said this is because these workers are the first line of defense against the spread of the transmittable coronavirus.

“One of the most difficult parts of the job for cabin crew in ensuring an orderly, safe, and healthy flight throughout the duration of the journey, for example, is to deal with difficult or unruly infected passengers,” ALU National Executive Vice President Gerard Seno said in a statement.

“To help workers perform under pressure, guarantees of enhanced protection from risk of exposure for these workers must be in place.”

Seno said there is also a need to make sure that workers have employment social protection insurance coverage and that emergency health facilities are provided considering the risks they face in performing their jobs.

The group also lauded the airlines for immediately issuing memoranda allowing cabin crew to wear company-provided protective face masks at the onset of the outbreak as primary protection against the risk of exposure to the virus, particularly on flights to and from at-risk destinations.

“We commend them for doing the right thing. These are measures that enhances the employees’ confidence and boosts their morale in doing their jobs under these unusual working days,” Seno said.

Meanwhile, Trade Union Congress of the Philipines (TUCP) President and TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza said government measures to minimize exposure to the virus should not only cover passengers but also airport and seaport personnel, including those manning immigration counters.

He proposed that passengers coming from cities that have been infected by the virus have a separate arrival passageway, and that arriving aircraft be directed to a separate landing area for possible fumigation. - By Leslie Ann Aquino

25% hazard pay for workers pushed in Taal Volcano danger zones

AMID the extraordinatrily dangerous situation caused by the Taal Volcano eruption, the labor sector has called for the payment of “hazard pay” corresponding to 25 percent of the basic pay of workers, including members of media, in the affected areas.

In this photo taken on January 17, 2020, workers sweep the ashfall from the pavement near the Binan City Materials and Recovery Facility (MRF) and load the carts of collected volcanic ash from the recent Taal volcano eruption to process them and turn them into cement bricks in Bian. Binan got coated with ash after nearby Taal Volcano erupted Sunday, but the local officials decided to put the dust to work rather than just cleaning it up. The fine grey powder is being mixed with locally collected plastic waste, as well as sand and cement, to form about 5,000 bricks per day. The blocks will be used for local building projects. / AFP / Maria TAN

The workers’ group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Saturday took the cudgels for the estimated 2,000 employees working in restaurants and hotels within Taal’s danger zone and about 1,000 journalists.

These workers, according to TUCP President Raymond Mendoza, are risking their lives in the performance of their duties and, as such, should be provided with added compensation in the form of hazard pay.

“Hazard is a dangerous phenomenon, substance, or human activity or condition that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of sources of livelihoods and services, social and economic,” he added.

Hazard pay is cash compensation to employees on top of their basic salary for rendering work under extraordinary conditions and circumstances that could result in death, serious injuries, sickness and disease, and handicap or debility.

“All employees, including rank-and-file, supervisors and managers working in all business establishments such as hotels, restaurants, casinos and spas, among others, which are located within the 14-kilometer danger zone, particularly Tagaytay City, have the right and are entitled to a minimum 25-percent hazard pay of their daily basic pay,” the group said.

It added that “reporters, cameramen, assistant cameramen, cab drivers and photographers who are covering the Taal volcano eruption and are working in the declared danger zone also have the same right and are similarly entitled to hazard pay whether they are under talent contract, or permanent, regular, contracual, seasonal, directly or agency-hired, freelance, or independently contracted.”

It stressed that working under extraordinary dangerous situations and the exposure to risk from the elements brought by the Taal Volcano explosion on January 12 were sufficient conditions for hazard pay.

TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay clarified that although there was no prevailing law, policy or department order in the country that regulated employers from giving their workers hazard pay, it was imperative upon business owners and employers’ management prerogative to give hazard pay to their employees considering the extraordinary circumstance in performing their duties and responsibilities.

“On other hand, employees can directly approach and request their employers to provide them with hazard pay,” said Tanjusay.

In the public sector, police, military, firemen and rescuers, including volcanologists and personnel from the Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology, are automatically entitled to hazard pay based on the Civil Service Commission regulation and subsequent agency memorandum giving government personnel hazard pay ranging from 5 percent to 27 percent of their basic pay after rendering 50 percent of the total working hours of the month. - By William Depasupil, TMT

TUCP slams Kuwait’s fake autopsy report on OFW’s death

File photo / Manila Bulletin

Labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) strongly condemned the ‘fake’ autopsy report submitted by the Kuwaiti government after the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) autopsy report showed that slain domestic helper Jeanelyn Villavende was raped and brutally murdered.

In a statement, the TUCP said that the attempt to whitewash the brutal murder of Villavende through the autopsy report submitted to the government’s Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) became apparent after NBI found out that her death is not merely due to physical injuries as indicated in the Kuwaiti official autopsy report but due to grave injuries and brutal sexual abuse.

“We strongly condemn this so-called fake autopsy report submitted by the Kuwaiti to the Philippine government. This is completely a willful dishonest attempt of the Kuwaiti government to cover up the heinous crime committed by the Kuwaiti national principal suspects and whitewash the gruesome act of inhumanity,” TUCP President Raymond Mendoza said.

“The Filipino people and the overseas Filipino workers in particularly are demanding the Philippine government to make a strong response and condemn this unacceptable act of bad faith on the part of the Kuwaiti government,” Mendoza said.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives’ Committee on Overseas Foreign Workers Affairs wants investigate the circumstances that led to Jeanelyn’s death and how these can help improve the current policy of the government and strengthen the government processes and mechanisms in providing care and assistance to OFWs particularly who are in distressed.

Mendoza said the congressional probe will also look into the discrepancies in the alleged employment contract of Jeanelyn with her Kuwaiti employer and the memorandum of agreement on the employment of domestic workers between Kuwait and Philippine governments.

The committee will also look into the desire of OFWs in the region for redeployment or relocation rather than repatriation in case the government raises coverage of Alert level 4 to cover other countries in the Middle East. Under Alert level 4, the government is directed mandatory evacuation of Filipinos plan in the light of the rising tension in the region.

“The special meeting will seek the facts around Jeanelyn’s death, how we can improve the implementation of government to government employment agreement and a binding employment contract of OFWs particularly those of Household Service Workers who are the most vulnerable of all OFWs,” Mendoza said. - Vito Barcelo

Penalize companies ignoring advisory on health, safety issues

File photo

The Gabriela Women’s Partylist on Monday urged government to penalize private companies, particularly business processing outsource firms, for putting in danger the health and safety of their employees by requiring them to report for work yesterday.

This developed as the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines urged private firm employers to provide their workers with pay, even if they are unable to come in to work because of the ashfall from Taal Volcano.

TUCP president and Rep.. Raymond Democrito Mendoza asked for compassion for workers who will have to face the effects of the possible eruption of Taal.

Represented in the Lower House by Rep. Arlene Brosas, the partylist organization assailed BPOs who required their workers to report for work despite the high alert levels raised by government in connection with the Taal volcanic eruption.

Gabriela said BPO’s have ignored government warnings and advise over the dangers of the volcanic activity.

“We have received information that employees of most BPO firms located in Sta. Rosa, Laguna which is about 20 kilometers from Taal, were still required to report to work despite the high alert level raised over the Taal volcano,” said Gabriela in a press statement.

The group said government should enforce the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Law and “penalize companies who have violated the safety standards by putting workers’ lives at risk.

The organization added: “We would like to remind BPO firms, as well as all businesses in the country that this is an occupational safety and health issue.”

Cited was Section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Law or RA11058 that workers have the right not to report to work , “without threat or reprisal from the employer if, as determined by the DOLE, an imminent danger situation exists in the workplace that may result in illness, injury or death.”

“BPO firms that fail to comply with OSH standards must be held liable for non-compliance with the safety of the workers, especially in life-threatening disasters, the partylist group stated.

Meanwhile, Mendoza called on the private sector to temporarily ignore their “no work, no pay” policy in this time of emergency.

“How will our workers be able to protect themselves and their families if the No Work, No Pay scheme is retained? It is impossible for some to make it through the roads to reach their places of work,” Mendoza said. - By Ben Rosario

Labor group presses for total HSW ban on Kuwait

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines president Raymond Mendoza said the Philippine government should impose a total deployment ban for the protection of Filipino HSWs.

Edd Gumban

MANILA, Philippines — As the remains of slain Filipina domestic helper Jeanelyn Villavende return home today, the country’s largest labor group has pressed the government for a total ban on the deployment of Filipino household service workers (HSWs) to Kuwait.

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) president Raymond Mendoza said the Philippine government should impose a total deployment ban for the protection of Filipino HSWs.

“We should stop the deployment of the most vulnerable sector, we should just develop local jobs so our workers won’t be forced to seek employment overseas,” Mendoza stressed.

Mendoza noted that 200 Filipino workers have died in Kuwait in the last four years, including Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found stuffed inside a freezer in 2018.

“Currently, there are 280 runaway Filipina workers staying in the embassy shelter in Kuwait,” Mendoza further disclosed.

Louie Corral, TUCP president, said there are also 30 unresolved cases in Kuwait of Filipina workers who allegedly committed suicide or died of unknown causes.

Following Villavende’s death, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III ordered a partial ban on deployment of HSWs to Kuwait.

Bello said the government would only lift the partial deployment ban if the Kuwaiti government can fully serve justice for the death of Villavende. Based on initial investigation, Villavende was maltreated by her employers and was beaten to death. Her employers are now detained.

A certificate of embalmment from Kuwait showed that she died due to heart and respiratory failure brought by multiple injuries of the vascular system, Bello bared.

Villavende’s body, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), is set to arrive from Kuwait at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at 4:30 p.m. today and would immediately be flown to her home in General Santos.

Bello said the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is extending airport and other necessary assistance to Villavende’s bereaved family.

The labor chief said he asked the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct an autopsy on Villavende’s remains to validate the findings from Kuwait.

The family of the Filipina worker met Bello at his office yesterday afternoon. Bello said the Philippine government is giving the Kuwaiti government time to file an appropriate case against the employers of Villavende.

Corral said the filing of charges would not bring back Villavende, but the government can still protect other HSWs by imposing a total deployment ban to Kuwait.

For its part, the Blas Ople Policy Center said the government should look into the failure of some recruitment agencies to monitor the workers they have deployed abroad.

It noted that there are numerous welfare cases involving Filipino HSWs in Kuwait. There are 257,000 Filipinos employed in Kuwait. Of the number, more than half or 59 percent are HSWs. - Robertzon Ramirez, Rudy Santos, Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)

PH eyes forced repatriation

Duterte wants military on stand-by amid ‘evolving crisis’ in Middle East

AFP file photo

The government would consider forced repatriation of some 7,600 Filipinos in Iran and Iraq should condition there endanger their lives, the Palace said Monday as the President urged Congress to allocate funds for a massive Middle East evacuation.

“If the conflict poses a risk to their safety, then the government will do it,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said.

President Rodrigo Duterte this week ordered the military to prepare to evacuate some 7,600 Filipinos in Iran and Iraq amid increasing tensions in the Middle East after a US airstrike killed Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, last week.

The military was put on standby in case the repatriation of Filipinos from Iran using Philippine air and naval assets becomes necessary.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said the military is prepared to execute the President’s directives, calling it an “important and crucial task.”

“It is more than a transport sortie. It is a humanitarian mission dedicated to take from harms way our fellow Filipinos and bring them to safety,” AFP spokesman Edgard Arevalo said in a statement.

The tension between the United States and Iran is expected to drive oil prices up, and the country’s economic managers are preparing measures to cushion the impact, Panelo said.

In a speech Monday, Duterte said he is expecting Iran to “retaliate soon” and act aggressively against the US after an American airstrike killed their top general.

“If that happens, then we have a trouble because most of our OFWs are stationed, majority of them are in Saudi Arabia. I am not as bright as the others, those with strategic minds might want to do it for us. Let’s start with a standby fund,” Duterte said following the signing of the 2020 budget.

Duterte, who previously ordered the military to prepare its resources for the evacuation of Filipinos, said the task would be “a gargantuan effort.”

He also appealed to Congress to set aside a day or two to discuss the effects of the US-Iran conflict, which he called an “evolving crisis.”

The President also raised the possibility of creating an oversight committee to ensure the funds on standby will not be used for corruption.

“I’m really nervous. Iran seems to be hell-bent on a retaliation, which I think will come. It’s a matter of time,” he said.

“We do not know what could be the end result of this crisis. It could lead to a protracted war. It could be a wide-scale strike. Whatever it is, we Filipinos are really in peril,” Duterte added.

The Philippine Statistics Authority says there are about 1.26 million Filipino workers in the Middle East, which includes Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

Defense Department spokesman Arsenio Andolong said the President has tasked the AFP to prepare its air and naval assets to evacuate Filipinos if war erupts in the Middle East.

He said this order came after the Chief Executive called for an emergency meeting with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, newly-appointed AFP chief-of-staff, Lt. Gen. Felimon T. Santos, Jr., commanders of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, Philippine National Police chief, and their principal staff on Sunday afternoon.

The meeting, he said, was conducted to ensure the safety of Filipinos working in the Middle East especially those deployed in Iran and Iraq, whose well-being could be endangered in the event of open hostilities.

“The sole agenda was how to ensure the safety of our countrymen in the Middle East especially those in Iraq and Iran as the tension between the US and Iran rises. There are 1,600 and 6,000 Filipinos in Iran and Iraq, respectively,” Andolong said.

Santos said the AFP is ready with a plan to evacuate Filipinos if the need arises.

“Right now, we are ready to deploy anytime,,” Santos said at a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs has advised Filipinos in Israel to refrain from going to the Golan Heights and areas near the borders of Gaza and Lebanon due to the heightening tension between the US and Iran.

In an advisory, the DFA through the Philippine Embassy in Israel declared in particular the snow resort in Mt. Hermon in the Golan Heights, which borders Syria, as a no-go zone for Filipinos there.

Mt. Hermon was the target of a rocket attack fired from Syria in January last year.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, meanwhile, said the government should look at relocating instead of repatriating thousands of Filipino workers in the Middle East.

In a statement, the TUCP said the “scarce job opportunities, domestic jobs-skills mismatch, and the labor market’s inadequate compensation and unattractive work benefits are the main reasons why most OFWs in the Middle East prefer to relocate than be repatriated back to the country in case of evacuation due to rising armed conflict in the region.

“Most of the OFWs groups stationed in Jordan and Qatar prefer to relocate to another country in the region than be repatriated back to home country in case there is a need for them to be evacuated,” TUCP Spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said. by MJ Blancaflor and Rey E. Requejo With Macon Ramos-Araneta, Vito Barcelo and PNA