Labor alliance 'alarmed' over mandatory vaccination

CEBU, Philippines —  The Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo-Kilusang Mayo Uno (AMA Sugbo-KMU) has raised alarm over the recent resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), which requires that employees of all establishments must be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“This is especially alarming as it can be used to implement a strict no vaccine, no work policy,” said Jaime Paglinawan, chairperson of AMA Sugbo-KMU.

Paglinawan, in a statement, said that this resolution can be used as an excuse or a reason to unjustly terminate workers.

IATF Resolution No. 148-B, he said, states that vaccination status cannot be used as the sole reason for termination but provides no sanctions towards employers who do so.

He said that this new policy violates the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021 (R.A. 11525), which provides that vaccination cards cannot be used as a mandatory requirement for educational, employment, and other similar government transaction purposes.

He added that it also goes against Article 116 of the Labor Code, which prohibits the withholding of wages by force, intimidation, threat, or any other means without the worker’s consent.

The resolution also allegedly allows the denial of entry and/or service to unvaccinated individuals, which discriminates against them and only worsens the difficulty that Filipino families face amid the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, employees who remain unvaccinated would have to shoulder the costs of their RT-PCR tests instead of having these provided for free, said Paglinawan.

“Ang kawalay bakuna dili pwede himuong rason sa daw silot nga palisiya. Dapat maglunsad ang gobyerno og mga mass vaccination drive alang sa tanang mamumuo ug ilang pamilya. Apil na niini ang pagpasabot sa importansya sa pagpabakuna,” he said.

The alliance also asserts that whatever benefits an employee may receive, such as the 13th month pay, is a result of their hard work throughout the year and it is alarming that this may be affected by the “no vaccine, no work” policy.

Paglinawan said that the burden of the government’s failure to implement swift vaccination efforts across the country must not fall on the shoulders of the workers.

“Dili ta batok sa pagpabakuna pero dili ta mosugot nga kini gamiton nga pamaagi sa padayong pagpamig-ot sa mamumuo taliwala sa usa ka pandemya nga wala gihapon masulbad sa gobyerno,” he said. — JMD (FREEMAN)