MORE companies may face labor disputes once the government implements the mandatory vaccination for employees who will be assigned onsite work, according to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).
TUCP Spokesman Alan A. Tanjusay told the BusinessMirror that even with the new policy of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF), some labor groups are already questioning the legality of the mandatory inoculation scheme such as “no vaccine, no benefits.”
Tanjusay noted that some non-TUCP affiliated labor groups sought their advice on how to handle such cases.
“We are in constant communication because they don’t want to be vaccinated because of some concern,” he told the BusinessMirror. “That is why they may challenge the said policy [of their company] before the court if they are mandated to get vaccinated.”
The labor leader said these cases may increase by December 1 once government starts allowing employers to make it mandatory for onsite workers to be fully inoculated against Covid-19.
Instead of punitive action, Tanjusay said, private firms should give incentives to workers to encourage them to voluntarily get Covid-19 jabs. The incentives proposed by the TUCP include tax credits, cash aid, house and lots, or even leave credits.
As an example, he cited the case of a local TUCP-affiliated union in the food manufacturing industry that gave leave credits to vaccinated workers.
“It worked,” Tanjusay told the BusinessMirror. “Now 90 percent of their workers are now vaccinated because of that policy.
Unfortunately, he said only a few companies are still providing such incentives to its workers.
“That is why we would like to suggest to the IATF to come out with a policy on this,” Tanjusay said.
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