The Employees’ Compensation Commission – Regional Extension Unit III (ECC-REU3) has switched from face-to-face seminars to webinars to cope with the challenges brought by the CoViD-19 pandemic.
As a number of cities and provinces stay under quarantine and cases of infected CoViD-19 people in the country rise every day, ECC-REU3 recognized the need to adapt to the “new normal” and find ways to continue its campaign to inform more workers of their benefits under the Employees’ Compensation Program (ECP) by using available technologies and conducting webinars.
The regional extension unit hosted its first webinar on August 25 via Zoom which was attended by 32 individuals from 29 companies. Danica Lacson, Information Officer II of ECC-REU3, led the webinar where the participants were introduced to the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) and the ECP. The ECP webinar thoroughly tackled the compensability of diseases including CoViD-19 and injuries, the benefits afforded to people who suffer from work-related contingencies, and the availment process.
In addition to the ECP, participants learned about the other benefits and services that they may avail from ECC under its Katulong at Gabay sa Manggagawangmay Kapansanan (KaGabay) Program which compriseoccupational and physical therapy, skills and entrepreneurial training, and livelihood starter kits.
Still, despite the existence of EC benefits that workers may avail in the event of work-related contingencies, ECC urges employers and employees to put safety and health a priority in the workplace and practice precaution at all times. To educate the participants on safety practices and precautionary measures especially during the CoViD-19 pandemic, ECC-REU3 invited Elisa Faye Baldevarona, the Administrative Officer II of the Occupational Safety and Health Center – Regional Extension Unit III (OSHC-REU3).
Baldevarona informed the attendees on ways on how to reduce the transmission of the virus in the workplace through the implementation of guidelines from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). She also suggested various measures to minimize contact rate including the adaption of alternative work arrangements.
The August 25 webinar is the first of the many webinars of ECC-REU3 lined up for 2020. “Our goal is to conduct webinars every week and reach more individuals and companies. We are also open for collaboration with other government agencies and private companies to let more people, especially workers, know about ECC,” Lacson said.
Following the August 25 webinar, ECC-REU3 held its second webinar last September 8 with 20 participants from 17 companies. Registration for the next webinars scheduled on September 15, 22, and 29 and on October 6, 13, 20, and 27 is now open. Interested individuals may visit ECC Central Luzon’s Facebook page for more details regarding the webinars.
“The current situation has pushed us to think past our usual approaches in information dissemination and to be innovative in our methods in order for us to continue serving the people especially in this time of pandemic,” said ECC’s Executive Director Stella Zipagan-Banawi.
