Labor department strengthens family welfare

Thursday, February 2, 2012

THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) will further strengthen its family welfare program (FWP) even if more and more industries already adopted FWP as “a viable investment that pays off in terms of increased productivity and harmonious and cooperative labor-management relations.”

As per data from the Dole's Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (Bles), around 55.9 percent or 13,284 of 23,723 business establishments employing 20 or more workers are already providing child and family care.

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Of these establishments, 50.6 percent implements formal work and family programs; 13 percent conducts seminars on balancing work; 10.3 percent provides advice and referral service; seven percent allows children to be brought into the workplace; and 6.2 percent conducts family planning service, the Bles added.

“In the present and increasingly competitive work environment where the boundaries between work and life are increasingly blurred, companies that provide work/life balance create an environment conducive to long-term productivity and retention of their greatest assets: their employees.”

It added that top four programs being implemented by employers on FWP include financial support, health and fitness, child and family care, and educational programs. “Of the total number of establishments, 78.5 percent provides financial support to their employees in forms such as salary and emergency loans.”

Around 68.1 percent of the respondent establishments implement health and fitness programs that include health maintenance organization card grants (37.7 percent); medical subsidy (29 percent); and medical insurance (23.3 percent).

With regard the 41.1 percent of the respondents which provide educational programs, about 24.7 percent grants educational assistance. Employers also award educational loans (24.4 percent) and scholarship grants (16.8 percent), the Bles said.

“The emergence of tightening labor demands has forced us into believing that it is almost impossible to balance responsibilities at home and at work. Thus, it is very pleasing to know that success at home and at work are attainable through the cooperation of our corporate partners which embraced FWP as integral part of their human resource development approach,” it added. (CGC)