More than a few companies have continued to let their staff work-from-home (WFH) even after quarantine measures have been relaxed in Metro Manila and other areas. Some businesses are even thinking of adopting this arrangement for good or at least for some time, a commendable policy as the number of Covid-19 cases continues to surge in the country.
Ayala Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jaime Zobel de Ayala told congressmen during a virtual hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Economic Affairs last week that some 35 percent to 38 percent of the Ayala Group’s work force are now on WFH arrangements.
“I think we’re going to have to shift and take health issues into account and particularly, if a vaccine is not found in the near future, we will have to take people’s health much more formally into account,” Zobel said. “We’re gonna think it through. Definitely, I can say that there will be a shift in the way we work, and working from home will become far more acceptable and much more of the norm than in the past.”
“One can say that the shift is there. We should accept it, we should embrace it, and all of us in the sectors that can provide services particularly on technology to make life easier for everyone should really ramp up our investments in those areas and be able to give the Filipino consumer and employer the tools that they need to be able to do that,” he said.
A law institutionalizing work-from-home arrangements in the private sector was enacted back in December 2018, officially known as the Telecommuting Act or Republic Act 11165.
The law says WFH employees should have compensable work hours and workloads, a minimum number of work hours, overtime pay and night shift differential, rest days and holidays, leave entitlements and career development opportunities similar to those who work in offices or in the traditional setup.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently asked the government to allow the full operations of firms nationwide. While easing restrictions on businesses will help rev up our nation’s economic engine, a top priority of employers should always be the health and safety of their employees, as well as their customers, partners and the communities where they operate.
As we slowly reopen the economy, and workers who are not able to do their jobs remotely are asked to return to work, it is also important to stress that employers are required to make sure that workplaces are safe and they should do everything to help their workers feel safe coming back to work.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III last week filed a bill seeking to protect employers from being sued by workers who would contract Covid-19 while on duty. This measure, however, even if enacted, does not excuse them from implementing the safety protocols that are mandated by the government to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in workplaces.
The safety of workers cannot be overemphasized enough since it is entirely possible that many workers have already contracted the virus while doing their duties and many have also died.
Last week, we wrote an editorial about our nurses and health-care personnel who have contracted Covid-19, comprising about 14 percent of the total cases in the country, which is fast approaching 85,000. In a nutshell, we said that without adequate and appropriate PPEs for frontline health-care
workers, they will get sick.
Even in Sotto’s home turf in the Senate, at least 20 cases of Covid-19 infection have already been recorded among Senate employees, and three have died—four if you include the unreported death of the staff of a senator who is currently in hot water for breaching quarantine protocols. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives last week confirmed the third Covid-19 death among its 18 infected employees.
The government and private employers should exert a lot more effort to protect their workers. They need stronger policies targeting zero infections and deaths in workplaces. If they cannot ensure the safety of their workers then they should at least explore and embrace flexible workplace arrangements in their day-to-day operations, allowing as many of their employees as possible to work from home to prevent the virus from spreading at workplaces.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano