EDITORIAL - Good move

Providing accident insurance to traffic enforcers addresses a real need and is therefore a better plan than the pay hike suggested earlier. Aside from the insurance, these traffic enforcers might also need better equipment and additional training to make the performance of their work a lot safer and more efficient.

All these enhancements came on the heels of that unfortunate accident in which a traffic enforcer got killed by a wayward car driven by a foreign national. Before that accident, the sacrifices of these enforcers were generally taken for granted.

And that is precisely the reason why we opposed the suggestion that traffic enforcers be given a raise in pay. Suggesting a pay raise displays insincerity considering that it came belatedly. Had there been genuine concern for the welfare of enforcers, why make the suggestion only after the unfortunate incident.

Tragic as the accident was, there is nothing that can be done anymore other than to move on and try to make sure similar accidents do not happen again, or that if they do, mitigating circumstances must be in place to lessen the burden on everyone concerned.

 A pay hike may reward those who perform their duties well and with dedication. But they can also be an undeserved bonus to those who do not. In other words, a pay hike not only does not address the problem, it is also unfair.

But accident insurance addresses a specific need and can be utilized only as needed. It does not go to waste. On the other hand, better training and better equipment helps everyone, including those who may not even be doing their jobs well. At least it protects the city from undeserved consequences.

It is also good that others as well may become beneficiaries of the accident insurance plan, as the city has a lot of other employees who perform hazardous tasks. They too need coverage from accidents, as well as better equipment and training.

Now that the city is at it, it might as well go all the way. Anyway, the projected expenses from these initiatives will all be for the benefit of city residents, whose lives and endeavors often hinge not only how these city employees perform their jobs but by how they are protected while doing them as well.