The people of the Philippines, especially the workers and the poor, have suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic. The cost of basic food has risen due to a series of typhoons in late 2020, the impact of the lockdown on supply chains and traders' profiteering. Retired generals were placed at the helm of the national COVID-19 task force, which did not have a single epidemiologist (Levien 2020).
The Duterte administration's authoritarian response showed that crucial solutions to the pandemic are few and far between. In light of these serious abuses, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) was criticized for washing its hands of the problem and “maintaining social distance from workers” (Partido Manggagawa 2020a). The law has been used by the head of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to deny collective bargaining rights to a union made up of non-uniformed personnel. veterinary community organizations (Magtubo 2021).
Unlike other countries in the Global South, the Philippines did not start vaccinations at the end of the first quarter of 2021 (Ranada 2021). So while "the new normal" has been a buzzword frequently used by officials and pundits, the old habits of graft and corruption have crippled a proper COVID-19 response.
Gathering Stories of Workers about COVID-19-Related Discrimination
The first two factories are part of the Sports City Group of Companies, which owns five companies. The situation of the workers in the three factories is symptomatic of the specific situation of the garment workers in the MEPZ and more generally of the workers in the ecozone in that area. However, these are estimated numbers as some employees attended more than one FGD.
These demographics are reflected in the gender composition of the participants in the FGDs and KIIs. In addition, the researchers interviewed one of the organizers of Partido Manggagawa (Workers' Party) in the MEPZ (hereafter referred to as "labor organizer"). He has direct knowledge of the situation of the workers and was intimately involved in the disputes at the ecozone.
All participants in the FGDs and KIIs were first briefed on the aims and methods of the study. 4 The survey specified the jobs of the informants, but has been omitted here to increase their anonymity.
Thirteen Types of COVID-19-Related Discrimination Suffered by Workers
However, Sports City appealed to the Office of the Secretary of Labor and pressed the same argument. The DOLE's acceptance of the appeal and the resulting suspension of the certification election directly violates Section 19 of DO 40-03 (as amended by A-I) which reads: "The order granting the conduct of a certification election in an unorganized institution shall not be subject. to appeal” (19). The demands of the First Glory workers for reinstatement were not resolved in the dialogue.
The case of MEPZ 5 and the presidential spokesperson simply repeats a pattern during the pandemic. You have to multiply your product and how many repairs there are and then this is the result of your daily - Oh my god, I don't know what's going on. He is very proud of himself in the company.” The production manager is the same person who allegedly leads the union busting efforts at First Glory.
Amidst the strict lockdown, the DOLE issued a Department Order (DO) suspending the dispute resolution mechanisms for workers. She said: “The [HR] assured me they would call after 15 days from when I called them. Meanwhile, informant 4 said: “The working condition worsened when COVID-19 started, just like how many times our company closed with a no-work-no-pay policy.
All interviewed workers agreed that they did not receive state aid as temporarily dismissed workers. I haven't received anything from DOLE CAMP [the COVID-19 Adaptation Action Program—the name for one form of worker assistance]. Management didn't tell us why they didn't take advantage [of DOLE CAMP assistance], but they knew there was SBWS [Small Business Wage Subsidy — another form of cash assistance for workers].
In the case of the mass dismissal at the three factories, the workers contested both the content and the manner of the dismissals. Those who are near the person who tested positive for COVID, you didn't send them home.' The HR manager said: 'You, madam, you are like the brain of an operator. Part of the problem is that the state did not mandate that quarantine leave be charged by either the government or the employer.
Section 7e of the DTI and DOLE Supplemental Guidelines states that “[e]mployers are strongly encouraged to provide sick leave benefits, health insurance, including supplemental wage compensation, to employees who have a confirmed RT-PCR test for COVID 19, or close contacts who were in contact with him. 14-day quarantine." The use of the words "highly recommended" instead of "required by law" means that employers have leeway to not grant paid quarantine leave. These actions have had harmful consequences for workers - denying them the help they urgently need needed in a situation where they had no work and no income.
Policy Recommendations for Remediating COVID-Related Discrimination
She was about a few months pregnant when the quarantine began in Cebu at the end of March. I only received the first half of the maternity benefit.] [Quote corrected.] I really wanted to ask. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); Convention Against Torture; Convention on the Rights of the Child; and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
This recent recommendation emerged in 2019, just days after the killing of Dennis Sequeña, a labor organizer from the Partido Manggagawa group in Cavite's export processing zones (Jaymalin and Dumlao 2019). Of the thirteen types of discrimination identified in the FGDs and KIIs, protected groups experience discrimination based on pregnancy, health status, political or other views, and economic status. Therefore, the workplace is a valid arena for enforcing non-discrimination against employees by both agents of the state and the employer.
While the violation of the right to union association occurs even without a pandemic, in the present case the express alibi for the dissolution of unions was related to COVID-19. Apart from cases of explicit harassment of workers either by the state or by representatives of employers, other forms of discrimination arise from the economic situation. This falls under Article 2(2) of the ICESCR, which prohibits discrimination based on "other status".
The experiences of discrimination resulting from the following: suspension of the complaints mechanism by the state; the lack of support from the company and the state; the criteria for mass layoffs; the residence; become a suspected COVID-19 case; forced travel at night; the unavailability of a shuttle service for employees and the failure to pay employee contributions. The State is apparently the responsible party for the. suspension of the complaints mechanism and the lack of assistance from the government. In addition, state agents harassed workers exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and redress of grievances.
Redress of discrimination can be at the level of individual victims in the form of compensation or at the level of collective workers. In addition, putting cash in the hands of the population will stimulate economic recovery based on the redistribution of wealth. Amend the guidelines in consultation with workers' organizations and in the light of workers' experience a decade after they were published.
List of Cited Government Documents: By Title
List of Cited Government Documents (Alphabetized According to Agency)
221, Series of 2021: Amended Regulations for the Issuance of Employment Permits to Foreign Nationals.” 6 January 2021. Guidelines for the Conduct of PNP Personnel, Police and Economic Zone Security Guards, Corporate Security Guards and Similar Personnel in Labor Disputes.” 29 May 2011. DOLE, DILG, DND, DOJ, AFP and PNP (Department of Labor and Employment, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense, Department of Justice, Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police) .
Guidelines for the Conduct of the DOLE, DILG, DND, DOJ, AFP and PNP in the Exercise of the Rights and Activities of Employees.” May 7, 2012.
Women Garment Workers in Selected Philippine Economic Zones: Toward an Organizing and Advocacy in the Context of Trade Liberalization. Labor Yearender: Workers are on the front lines of a fight against the pandemic of human rights abuses. The UP CIDS Public Policy Monograph Series is published by the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies.
Editorial Office: Lower Ground Floor, Ang Bahay ng Alumni, Magsaysay Avenue, University of the Philippines,. The Editor-in-Chief, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, and Program Editors ensure that the monographs contain findings on issues aligned with the core agenda of the research programs within the Center for Integrative and Development Studies of the University of the Philippines. (UP CIDS). The Editor-in-Chief, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, and Program Editors are responsible for maintaining high standards of scholarship and for generating and disseminating new knowledge that can be used for public benefit.
Founded in 1985 by UP President Edgardo Angara, the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS) is a policy research unit of the university that connects disciplines and scholars from the different units of the UP system. It is mandated to encourage collaborative and rigorous research that addresses issues of national importance by supporting scientists and securing funding, enabling them to produce results and recommendations for public policy. This is carried out through the dissemination of research-based knowledge through activities such as forums, symposia and conferences, and through public policy-oriented publications.
The Program for Alternative Development (AltDev) aims to look at paradigms, policies, practices and projects that have been largely marginalized and excluded from the mainstream.
