House of Representatives Partylist Gabriela is again pushing for the passage of the pandemic leave benefits bill not just for COVID-19 infected workers but also for "floating status" workers due to temporary closures and reduced company operations.

"Chop-chop 'yung sahod dahil bawas ang work schedules o di kaya ay floating hanggang ipatawag uli ng kumpanya. Ganyan ang horror story ng daan-daang libong manggagawa sa ilalim ng pandemya at kapabayaan ng gobyernong Duterte. Ang masaklap pa, wala silang kahit anong assistance mula sa DOLE dahil technically ay employed pa sila (Chop-chop salary due to short work schedules or floating until they are given a call by their company. That is the horror story of hundreds of workers due to the pandemic and negligence of the Duterte government. And worst, they didn't get any assistance from DOLE because they are technically still employed)," said Gabriela Partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas.

"We need to prioritize the paid pandemic leave bill under House Bill 7909 which we are pushing in the Lower House. Saklaw nito ang maging floating workers at mga manggagawang apektado ng economic disruptions dulot ng pandemya (This also includes the floating workers and workers affected by economic disruptions due to the pandemic)."

Based on the latest Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) data, there are at least 388,600 workers affected by temporary closures of 12,409 establishments since January this year bulk of which were in the accomodation and food service activities.

"This means nearly 400,000 families are living with vastly reduced income levels and are possibly sliding down to informal modes of work to make ends meet, on top of the millions of workers who permanently lost their jobs under the pandemic," added the House Assistant Minority leader.

"Hindi pa kasama sa datos na ito ang mga manggagawang nasa ilalim ng compressed workweek arrangement, kung saan tatlong araw na lang ang pasok nila sa loob ng isang linggo. Tinapyasan nang kalahati ang sahod nila dahil dito (This data doesn't include the workers under the compressed workweek arrangement who only work for three days in one week. Their salary were also cut in half)."

The Gabriela Partylist congresswoman is also urging Malacanang to certify HB 7909 as urgent, so that Congress can hasten the passage of the measure once it resumes its session this November. (Melvin Sarangay)