Pampanga First District Representative Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr., has filed House Bill No. 4357, which seeks to grant hazard pay to all local government unit (LGU) employees whose work entails inherent risk to their health and safety.
HB 4357, to be known as the “Local Government Employees’ Hazard Pay Act,” seeks to grant LGU workers a hazard pay equivalent to a minimum of 25 percent of their basic monthly salary, granted monthly alongside the regular salary.
“During the pandemic, many government employees were exposed to the dangers of being infected while performing their regular duties, such as public cemetery workers, traffic enforcers, and street sweepers. However, not all of these employees received hazard pay since they are not covered under the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers,” Lazatin said.
“This proposed measure seeks to establish an equitable distribution of hazard pay to all government employees who are exposed to risks and dangers that their work assignment entails,” he added.
Under the proposed bill, LGU employees are qualified to receive hazard pay for the performance of duties that expose them to imminent danger, difficulty, and health risks, which are over and above their usual risks in public service like physical hazards (dangerous machinery, vehicular traffic, unstable structures, or working at heights); chemical hazards (toxic, corrosive, or flammable substances); biological hazards (infectious agents, human or animal waste, or contaminated environments); environmental hazards (extreme weather conditions, pollution, or prolonged exposure to unsanitary outdoor environments); and situations involving direct threat to life or personal safety.
Employees shall be qualified to receive the hazard pay whether their employment status is permanent, temporary, casual, contractual, contract of service, or job order.
During his term as mayor during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lazatin said he signed Memorandum No. 598, s-2020 and Memorandum No. 602, s-2020 authorizing the hazard pay for employees delivering frontline services in the Disaster Rick Reduction and Management Office, Command Center, City Social Welfare and Development Office, Public Market, and Public Cemetery. #