CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA – RTWPB Central Luzon, during its 7th board meeting, discussed DOLE Labor Advisory No. 3, Series of 2021, or the “Guidelines on the Administration of COVID-19 Vaccines in the Workplaces.”
Ms. Maria Rima C. Hernandez, head of Labor Relations and Labor Standards Division of DOLE Central Luzon, discussed the salient points of the advisory in relation to the OSH Law (RA No. 11058) and COVID-19 Vaccination Law (RA No. 11525). She said the advisory is applicable to employers in the private sector that intend to establish a vaccination policy in their respectiveworkplaces.
“The vaccination policy in the workplace is not mandatory and no cost of the vaccination shall directly or indirectly be charged to the employees,” Ms. Hernandez said. She emphasized that management and employees must agree on the vaccination policy, with or without any conditions or undertaking, before its implementation to avoid conflicts.
Another key provision of the advisory is the prohibition on the no vaccine, no work policy. Ms. Hernandez said that the decision of an employee not to get vaccinated should not cause discrimination against him/her in terms of tenure, promotion, training, pay, and other benefits, or termination from employment.
Updates on assistance to workers and employers from the formal and informal sectors were also discussed. Ms. Hernandez provided updates on the status of DOLE CAMP 2 and CAMP for the Tourism Sector. She said that applications for TUPAD BKBK for the informal sector,and AKAP and TABANG for OFWs are on-going.
DTI Regional Director Leonila T. Baluyut, RTWPBIII Vice Chairperson, shared that MSMEs may avail of DTI financial assistance programs such as Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay (LSP-NSB) and Pangkabuhayan Para sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa (PPG). Small Business Corporation, the financing arm of DTI, also offers financial loan assistance through the CARES 3 program.
