Tollway employees to be retrained, given other tasks amid shift to RFID

Employees in toll plazas would be equipped to take on other functions as the expressways shift to using the cashless radio frequency identification (RFID) system, the tollway operators said Thursday.

Retraining of employees is ongoing, according to Rodrigo Franco, president and CEO of the Metro Pacific Tollway Corporation (MPTC), the mother company of North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Corporation.

"What we are prioritizing now is the retraining of our employees who will be affected by the removal of cash transactions in our toll plazas," Franco said in a Senate hearing.

"Alam naman natin magbabago na ang profile ng job content ng mga empleyado. Even 'yung mga maiiwan sa toll plaza, ang toll plaza transactions kasi mayroon nang technology content," he added.

The MPTC is also the concessionaire in charge of the Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX), and  Cavite Laguna Expressway (CALAEX).

Franco assured that those who would not be accommodated in other positions will be provided with "far more than what is required under the law."

San Miguel Corporation government relations unit head Melissa Encanto-Tagarda also said their employees in the Skyway, South Luzon expressway (SLEX), STAR Tollway, Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEX), Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway (NAIAx), and the Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway (MCX) would be given other functions or engaged in other projects. Otherwise, they will be provided with due compensation pursuant to the law.

During the same hearing, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said that the transition period for the shift to 100% cashless payment in tollways is indefinitely extended after he ordered operators to still allow cash payments while the RFID system is being improved. -MDM, GMA News