The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is pushing for a safer workplace for employees of the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) firms after the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) rejected proposals to grant tax incentives to the sector for implementing work-from-home (WFH) arrangements.
Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III urged IT-BPM establishments to apply for Safety Seal Certification (SSC) to assure their employees will be working in a safe environment.
SSC is a document issued by government agencies to establish compliance with the minimum public health standards set by the government.
“When workers are assured of their safety and health at their respective workplaces, work quality and productivity are also enhanced,” Bello said in a news statement.
In areas under Alert Level System (ALS), establishments with SSCs will also be allowed to operate with additional venue capacity.
In an advisory issued last month, the Safety Seal Interagency Committee authorized DOLE to issue SSCs to qualified IT-BPM firms.
Prior to the said advisory, DOLE issue SSC to establishments in the manufacturing, construction, utilities, information and communication, and warehousing companies.
Bello issued the statement after the FIRB thumbed down last week the appeal of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) to base WFH arrangements on locators’ gross revenue instead of its workplace.
The Peza proposal would have incentivized IT-BPM firms to implement a 100 percent WFH arrangement.
Bello backed the Peza proposal since it would allow IT-BPM firms to maximize the use of WFH and minimize the risk of their employees from novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection.