NEGROS Occidental-based labor group General Alliance of Workers Associations (Gawa) condemned the displacement of 401 workers amid the looming closure of a private hospital in Bacolod City.
Wennie Sancho, secretary general of Gawa, on Thursday, said the impending shutdown of the Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Specialty Hospital (BOLMSH) has resulted from mismanagement of the previous administration.
Sancho claimed that "fraudulent" reports of the previous management have put workers at risk thus, it should be held accountable.
"The workers are at no fault in this unfortunate event," he said, adding that the workers should be given economic relief once they are laid off.
On Wednesday, a source from the hospital's Administrative Department told SunStar Bacolod that they already started to discharge their patients on Monday, June 18, after receiving a communication from the Philippine Health Corp. (PhilHealth) in Region 6.
The letter addressed to Dr. Reynold Wong, medical director of BOLMSH, stated that "the hospital's application for continuous accreditation as a Level 2 provider has been denied by the Accreditation Sub-Committee due to conviction and fraudulent acts as recommended in a Rule II Section 63.c of the revised IRR 10606 of the National Health Insurance Act of 2013."
On the same day, the facility also stopped accepting patients for admission using their PhilHealth.
"It would be unfair for the patients that they could no longer use their PhilHealth because our accreditation was denied. Also, their respective doctors could not be paid by the PhilHealth," the source said.
The hospital, for its part, cannot claim from PhilHealth. Since March until May, the hospital has not been paid by PhilHealth amounting to P25 million.
To avoid additional losses, the hospital needs to stop its operation this month, the source added.
Therefore, the labor group claimed, the workers are victims of mismanagement of the previous administration.
Gawa is pushing for the provision of the benefits due them under the law pending whatever cases they are going to file or steps to make.
Sancho urged labor union and the hospital management to appeal to the Department of Labor and Employment or to the Office of the President to hold in abeyance the closure citing economic and public interests as reasons.
Sancho said the labor group sympathizes with the workers as they condemn the "drastic" action of the hospital without taking into consideration the plight of the workers.
"We will consult with the union, we will also urge other groups to rally behind their cause and support whatever collective actions they may take to pursue their struggle," he added.
As this developed, Gawa said the findings of the International Trade Union Confederation (Ituc) that the Philippines ranks number eight among the countries in the world that has poor protection when it comes to the rights and welfare of the workers.
The group said it is alarming as evidenced by hundreds and thousands of contractual workers despite the government's pronouncement that contractualization must end.
"We condemn the dismissal of about 400 workers at the Lady of Mercy Hospital as this violates the workers' security of tenure," its secretary general said.
Moreover, Gawa expressed opposition on the proposed bill on home-based employment because it will violate the workers right to form unions and have collective bargaining agreement.
This will result in the fragmentation of the bargaining unit denying the workers of their right to self-organization, it added.