Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 24) — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has committed to review one of its recent advisories in light of reports that workers are not receiving salaries and benefits amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
At Wednesday’s hearing of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, Senator Imee Marcos said the advisory in question is Labor Advisory No. 17, which encourages companies to adopt alternative work schemes as an “alternative to termination of employment or closure of business.”
The advisory also allowed employers and employees to agree to temporarily adjust wages and wage-related benefits, but these adjustments should not exceed six months or the period they agreed upon.
Marcos noted that while the good intentions of DOLE for implementing this advisory are understood, it has “become very clear that these are advisories being used to exploit Filipino workers by many foreign BPOs.”
Most cases involved employees who had worked in the said firms for 10 to 15 years, she added.
According to Marcos, she has also filed Senate Resolution 454, which seeks to look into the issue as the number of reports continue to rise.
“Yung Advisory No. 17, if I recall correctly, nandiyan naman yung mga (among those involved were) leaders of the labor sector. I think this was the result of a discussion,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III told the hearing. “And we agreed that they will meet, (the) labor (sector) will meet again together with our senior officials to study this Advisory No. 17, your Honor.”
In a separate statement, Marcos said the agency must revise Labor Advisories 9 and 17 to address the ‘floating’ status of some employees, which she said had deprived them of income while in the middle of a crisis.
“There is no more reason to put employees on floating status because we are now under GCQ in Metro Manila, where most call centers are located,” the senator said. “The business process outsourcing sector was already allowed to operate at full capacity even under a stricter quarantine level.”
Both advisories, however, do not explicitly mention anything about placing employees on floating status in light of the pandemic.
