Villanueva supports DOLE stand to encourage private sector to adopt telecommuting
By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
Senator Joel Villanueva supported the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in encouraging the private sector to adopt flexible work arrangements amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the country.
Sen. Joel Villanueva
(Senate of the Philippines Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN) The chair of the Senate labor committee reiterated his appeal to the private sector to enforce the work-from-home, or telecommuting, work arrangement to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infections. "We join the call of DOLE for our private sector to implement telecommuting work arrangements in their companies as applicable. Firms should help minimize exposure of workers to COVID-19 by reducing need to commute to work," Villanueva said in a tweet. DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello on Saturday issued Labor Advisory No. 11 S. 2020 which reiterates alternative work arrangements for employees instead of terminating them or closing down of establishments amid the COVID-19 scare. The advisory also lays out the guidelines to be followed for workers as the government implements a month-long community quarantine for the whole of Metro Manila, where local land, sea, and air travel to and from the region will be prohibited. Metro Manila workers who reside in cities and municipalities outside of the region shall be allowed to report for work as long as they show proof of employment at border checkpoints. The same rule applies to residents of Metro Manila who work outside its cities and municipalities. DOLE earlier issued Advisory No. 9 which provides guidelines on the implementation of flexible work arrangements during the COVID-19 outbreak. Bello, on the other hand, maintained that such work arrangements, under the law, are not mandatory and can only be implemented if employers and workers mutually agree on it.
Sen. Joel Villanueva(Senate of the Philippines Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN) The chair of the Senate labor committee reiterated his appeal to the private sector to enforce the work-from-home, or telecommuting, work arrangement to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infections. "We join the call of DOLE for our private sector to implement telecommuting work arrangements in their companies as applicable. Firms should help minimize exposure of workers to COVID-19 by reducing need to commute to work," Villanueva said in a tweet. DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello on Saturday issued Labor Advisory No. 11 S. 2020 which reiterates alternative work arrangements for employees instead of terminating them or closing down of establishments amid the COVID-19 scare. The advisory also lays out the guidelines to be followed for workers as the government implements a month-long community quarantine for the whole of Metro Manila, where local land, sea, and air travel to and from the region will be prohibited. Metro Manila workers who reside in cities and municipalities outside of the region shall be allowed to report for work as long as they show proof of employment at border checkpoints. The same rule applies to residents of Metro Manila who work outside its cities and municipalities. DOLE earlier issued Advisory No. 9 which provides guidelines on the implementation of flexible work arrangements during the COVID-19 outbreak. Bello, on the other hand, maintained that such work arrangements, under the law, are not mandatory and can only be implemented if employers and workers mutually agree on it.