The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will find out for itself which companies have been imposing the alleged "no vaccine, no work" policy on its employees.
DOLE Undersecretary Benjo Benavidez said Thursday, Aug. 12 that while the agency has heard "reports" on the imposition of such policy on workers, they have received no formal complaints so far.
"Wala pa po kami natatanggap na pormal na sumbong or reklamo. Ang nakakarating lang po sa amin ay mga reports, ngunit wala pong pinangalanang mga kumpanya (We have yet to receive a formal complaint. We've only received reports that make no mention of a specific company)," Benavidez said during Thursday's Laging Handa public briefing.
"At dahil po dito, kami po ay nagkakaroon ng sarili naming pagsisiyasat bukod na rin sa inspeksyon para alamin kung sino ba ang mga kumpanyang ito at nasaan po sila (And because of this, we are having our own research and inspections to find out what these companies are and where they are located)," he said.
Benavidez reiterated DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III's statement last Monday regarding the illegality of the no vaccine, no work setup.
"Ipinagbabawal po natin yung anumang porma ng discrimination at yung mga naririnig natin na no vaccine, no work policy. Hindi po natin ito nire-recognize at ito po ay bawal (We prohibit any form of discrimination in the workplace, including this no vaccine, no work policy. That's illegal and we don't recognize it)," the undersecretary said.
He said that for this year alone, DOLE intends to inspect 4,000 companies nationwide. This is not just for the purpose of busting them on the alleged no vaccine, no work policy, but also to check on their compliance to health and safety protocols in connection with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The national government’s mass vaccination program against COVID-19 was rolled out only last March.