De Lima bill seeks paid leaves for private sector workers during epidemics

Senator Leila de Lima has filed a bill seeking paid leave of absence for workers in the private sector during a state of calamity brought about by infectious disease like COVID-19.

Under Senate Bill 2307, De Lima proposed a five-day paid epidemic leave benefit to every private sector employee who will test positive for any emerging infectious disease, regardless of the employment status.

The measure also seeks to provide a maximum of 60 days paid leave credits at 80% of the employee’s full pay for those who were placed on “floating status.”

SB 2307 states that the grant of paid epidemic leave shall be made available upon the declaration of a State of Calamity by the President or by the Local Sanggunian pursuant to Section 16 of Republic Act No. 10121, otherwise known as the "Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010."

"Workers already occupy a precarious and vulnerable position in Philippine society but their situation was further exacerbated by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic," De Lima said in a statement.

"This vulnerable sector has long been consigned to the sidelines, forced to endure their struggles and to fend for themselves while the administration continues to allow the deluge of Chinese workers much to their detriment," she added.

De Lima then hit the administration for making the struggles of the labor sector “even worse” by the continued “nonchalance of the administration, if not downright neglect.”

She cited Philippine Statistics Authority ’s (PSA) annual unemployment rate in 2020 which increased to 10.3% or equivalent to 4.5 million Filipinos.

She also noted the country’s Gross Domestic Product, which fell by 9.5%, saying this “proves” the rising unemployment and decreasing economic output of the country amid the pandemic.

De Lima underscored that measures protecting and giving safety nets for workers “remain sorely lacking” despite government’s steps to ensure protection of capital investments in the country.

“This proposed measure is a social justice tool that upholds workers' most basic human rights. If we can offer protections to industries, nothing should stand in the way of shielding employees from oppressive situations that epidemics of this magnitude have confined them in," she said.

"In the absence of safeguards, these workers could find themselves in a situation where they may need to make a choice between health and income, which comes at a risk to both their health, the health of others and their economic well-being."

In May, De Lima filed a bill that provides 10-day paid COVID-19 leave for employees who contracted the virus given that the nature of work cannot avail of a telecommuting program or work from home scheme.

A counterpart measure was passed by the House Committee on Labor and Development in December 2020.

The bill, authored by the members of Makabayan bloc, seeks to mandate a 14-day paid pandemic leave to private sectors during a declared global pandemic. —Hana Bordey/KBK, GMA News