DOLE-7: No admin sanction for workers who skip work during storms, imminent danger
The DOLE-7 office in Cebu City. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Private sector employers can suspend work if they deem it unsafe for their employees to travel in the event of weather disturbances.
Director Lilia Estillore, said in a statement, that it is a responsibility of the employers to make sure that it is safe for their employees to travel to and from work when there is a storm or other harsh weather conditions.
“This is where the evaluation of the health and safety committee comes into play. The safety officer or any other responsible company officer should make appropriate recommendations to help the management come up with a sound decision,” Estillore said.
“Please remember that the workers are not rain, accident or typhoon-proof. Anything could happen to them as they traverse towards their respective workplaces and from there going back to their homes and even inside the workplace where heat stroke and typhoon-related injuries and fainting could result,” she added.
DOLE-7 said workers should never be subjected to any administrative sanction for their absence.
Sec. Bienvenido Laguesma recently issued Labor Advisory No. 17-22 on the “Suspension of Work in the Private Sector by Reason of Weather Disturbances and Similar Occurences.”
It states that workers who opt to be absent when there is a storm is not entitled to receive the designated regular pay, “except when there is a favorable company policy, practice or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) granting payment of wages on said day or days or when the workers are allowed to use their existing or available leave credits.”
Those who will come to work are “entitled to their full regular pay provided they have rendered work for not less than six hours.”
“If less than 6 hours, the workers are entitled to the proportionate amount of the regular pay, without prejudice to
an existing company policy or practice that is more beneficial to them,” Estillore said.
The same Labor Advisory allows companies to offer additional incentives or advantages to employees who would show up for work on such days to compensate for their effort.
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