CLARK FREEPORT -- The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB)-Central Luzon has encouraged employers and labor unions to continue extending assistance to workers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Department of Labor and Employment Regional Director Ma. Zenaida Campita, chairperson of RTWPB Central Luzon, said it is good to see employers and labor organizations doing their share in this time of the pandemic.
“We seek to solicit continuous assistance on what and how they can help during the pandemic," Campita said.
Campita added employers and labor organizations may continue to negotiate voluntarily for the provision of temporary shelter or shuttle service of employees and continue observing health and safety protocols.
While companies incur expenses for buying personal protective equipment (PPEs), reconfiguring workplaces and observing safety protocols, Campita said labor unions may also extend financial assistance or any kind of program to employees affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier, the Wage Board passed Resolution No. 4, Series of 2020, recognizing the initiatives of employers and labor unions in extending assistance to employees affected by the pandemic.
The Wage Board specifically supports and proposes the following initiatives for employers and labor organizations to ensure the health and safety of employees by complying with the health and safety protocols set by the Department of Health, Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Labor and Employment; negotiate and cooperate voluntarily for reasonable, acceptable and better terms and conditions of employment during the Covid-19 pandemic; assist affected employees in filing for social welfare and livelihood benefits before any appropriate government agency; continue providing psycho-social and paralegal support to employees; and extend any form of assistance, financial or, otherwise, to affected employees, subject to their respective company policies, rules and regulations and labor organizations’ constitution and by-laws and collective bargaining agreement.
The resolution emphasizes that improved social protection as a component of the Central Luzon Regional Recovery Program is not only limited to programs and projects implemented by the government, but it also includes activities and interventions initiated by the business and labor sectors.
Jerome Yanson, head of the Wage Board secretariat, said that the Wage Board initiated to pass the resolution pursuant to its mandate to formulate plans, policies, programs and projects relative to wages, income and productivity improvement in the region. He also reminded employers and workers in Central Luzon to continue practicing good housekeeping in workplaces to promote safety and sustain productivity amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Wage Board is composed of the DOLE regional director as chairperson, National Economic and Development Authority and Department of Trade and Industry regional directors as vice-chairpersons and two representatives each from the labor and employer sectors.