The Senate ought to swiftly pass a House-approved measure providing mandatory insurance and other benefits to line workers in the electric power and telecommunications (telecom) sectors.

Thus, said Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. Luigi Villafuerte and Camarines Sur 5th district Rep. Migz Villafuerte, who took up rhe cudgels for those involved with the high-risk profession by pushing for the proposed Line Workers Insurance and Benefits Act.

The measure, embodied in House Bill (HB) No.7239, was recently approved on third and final reading during plenary session at the House of Representatives via unanimous 197-0 vote.

But the senators must do the same to a counterpart measure in order to give it a shot at enactment.

Awaiting line workers based on the House version of the bill are accident, disability, medical and retirement benefits. This, the Villafuertes said, underscore Congress’ appreciation of the dangers faced daily by these power and telecom industry crews in delivering their respective companies’ vital services to the public.

“During extreme weather conditions, electric power and telecom lines often absorb severe damage, leading to interruptions in electricity, communications, health service delivery and disaster response efforts of government agencies, NGOs (non-government organizations) and other stakeholders in areas affected by typhoons, floods, tidal waves or surges  or other natural disasters,” Rep. Luigi, a House deputy majority leader, said.

Under such conditions, Rep. Luigi said, “Line workers perform an essential and often dangerous role in restoring power and communications, even in the height of erratic weather. They risk their safety and even their lives to repair distribution systems and re-establish electricity and communications following calamities.”

Rep. Migz, on the other hand, said that “beyond disaster response, line workers regularly conduct pole repairs, maintenance and electrification or telecom projects in underserved and remote areas, supporting rural development goals".

“However, despite this critical nature of their work, line workers remain one of the most underappreciated sectors in our labor force,” added Rep. Migz, chairman of the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology.

HB No.7239 entitles all line workers to life and accident or disability insurance benefits, with a minimum required coverage of P200,000 for small distribution utilities (DUs), up to P1 million for mega-large DUs, and P2 million for transmission or grid operators. 

“In addition, line workers shall be granted under the House-passed bill other types of windfall like retirement benefits, mortuary assistance, disability benefits and reimbursement of their medical expenses incurred in the line of duty,” the authors said.

They noted that a similar bill was approved by House members during the previous 19th Congress. However, this pro-line workers' measure did not clear the Senate.

HB No.7239 recognizes the contributions of line workers and the risks they encounter in ensuring the continuous and reliable supply of electricity and telecommunications, not only in residential dwellings, but most importantly, in commercial and industrial establishments, specifically in the countryside and rural areas.

The proposed statute shall cover all line workers in telecom companies, telecom line contractors, powerline contractors, private DUs, electric cooperatives (ECs) and transmission or grid operators. The coverage shall be effective upon the start  of their employment until their separation from their companies, either by resignation, termination or retirement.

Under the bill, employers shall cover 100 percent the insurance premium payments of their respective line workers.

Employers who are already providing insurance coverage to their line workers equal to or more than the minimum requirement as prescribed in HB No.7239 are no longer required to make adjustments to their insurance coverage. 

Otherwise, employers shall augment the amount of coverage to comply with this Act, provided that in no way shall this bill be construed to diminish or reduce any insurance coverage that the line workers are already receiving or any entitlement under existing laws, company policy, or employment contracts or collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) between employers and their employes.