Gabriela party-list Representative Arlene Brosas on Monday insisted the proposed bill seeking to grant a 14-day paid pandemic leave for private sector employees should be certified as urgent.
“With the imposition of a stricter enhanced community quarantine accompanied by restrictions on public transportation, Filipino workers are still compelled to report to work because of ‘no work, no pay schemes.’ Worst, they are either required to work without hazard pay or be placed on unpaid forced leave or floating status,” Brosas said in a statement.
“This is why the government should certify as urgent the Makabayan Bloc’s Paid Pandemic Leave Bill to provide social safety nets in place as workers and their families continue to suffer from income losses,” she added.
Brosas said the chamber should hasten the approval of this measure as “Filipino workers continue to face the violent surge of COVID-19 cases brought by the Duterte administration’s neglect to provide safety measures for the labor force and overall failed pandemic response.”
If signed into law, a 14-day pandemic leave would be given to employees who are confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of COVID-19 or any other emerging infectious disease that reached pandemic status. The worker would be allowed to undergo medical quarantine for two weeks.
Solon wants bill granting 14-day paid pandemic leave to be certified urgent
The same leave benefits would be given to those who had close contact or exposure to a COVID-19 patient or another emerging infectious disease, and those who have an immediate family member who acquired the disease.
Meanwhile, workers who have been displaced or placed under floating status due to the pandemic’s economic impact but remain unemployed are entitled to a maximum of 690 days paid leave at 80% of their daily full pay.
Employees who wish to avail of the paid pandemic leave should submit pertinent medical records and other proof of eligibility to their employer. The application results should be released within three days.
If the employer or company failed to act on the application within five calendar days from receipts, the paid pandemic leave would be automatically approved.
Through the Department of Labor and Employment and the Social Security System, the national government would reimburse the employer for the payment of their employees’ pandemic leaves.