No means of transpo? Employers required to provide shuttle for workers

MANILA, Philippines – Employers are required to provide shuttle services for employees dependent on public transportation to get to work, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said on Saturday, May 23.

This rule applies to areas under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or modified ECQ where public transportation remains suspended but certain types of businesses and establishments are allowed to operate.

“Employers know that if they want you to report to work, and they know you have no car or other means to go to your workplace, so if they want you to come in, they must provide a shuttle facility,” Bello  said during a Laging Handa press briefing on Saturday.

“If they can’t provide that, they can’t force you to work,” he said.

Employers must also shoulder the cost of protective equipment, like face masks, and ensure a safe working environment, like office floor plans that enable physical distancing. (READ: Things to know before resuming business operations)

Bello said workers have to follow work protocols like disinfection at entrances, frequent handwashing, and temperature checks.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez also said walkways must be one-way, and desks should not face one another, in order to lessen chances of transmitting the virus through droplets from the mouth and nose.

Employers are not required to test their workers before resuming operations. But they must keep tabs of their workers’ health and submit a checklist to authorities. – Rappler.com