House panel OKs bill to protect informal workers

MANILA, Philippines — A House panel has approved a bill providing protection for some 16 million workers in the informal sector.

The committee on labor and employment passed on first reading the House Bill (HB) No. 3465 or the proposed Magna Carta for Workers in the Informal Economy authored by Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte before Congress adjourned sine die last week.

The panel consolidated the measure with six other similar bills that seek protection of informal workers who were severely affected by quarantine measures during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Villafuerte explained that the proposed measure is in line with the Duterte administration’s efforts to transition them to the formal sector so that their rights can be protected under the law. 

He lamented that workers in the informal sector have been hit hard by the work stoppages during the quarantine as they subsist on the no-work, no-pay arrangement.

Villafuerte stressed that the measure is necessary to assure informal workers of job security, health care services and other benefits that employees in the formal sector enjoy. 

“The fact that informal sector workers were among the primary beneficiaries of the Social Amelioration Program of the government during the lockdown imposed by the government to shield us from the coronavirus pandemic highlights the inequality that they have to endure especially in times of crisis,” he said. 

“Our proposed Magna Carta for Workers in the Informal Economy, which will mostly benefit those under the no-work, no-pay setup, aims to correct this inequality. Protecting their rights and providing them access to the work-related benefits that workers in the formal sector enjoy is the simplest but most effective way of introducing them to the economic mainstream,” he added. 

Apart from protecting informal workers, Villafuerte said the proposed measure will also help achieve President Duterte’s goal of financial inclusion.

“In the advent of modern technology that empowers connectivity and mobility, as well as progressive legislation that encourages work-from-home schemes and increased flexibility, development thinkers predict that the informal economy shall be the accepted norm in the future. We would like to ensure that when such time comes, our workers have ample legal protection in place and our State likewise benefits by their monitored contributions to the gross national product,” he pointed out.

Villafuerte said his bill encourages the formation of organizations among marginalized farmers, fisherfolk, women and workers in the informal economy or employment whether in manufacturing, agriculture, transport, retail, services or home-based enterprises. 

This will ensure that informal workers have a unified body to represent them in all dialogues with government or in seeking redress for grievances, he said. 

Villafuerte’s bill mandates government agencies such as the Departments of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and of Social Welfare and Development to, among others, consolidate social welfare efforts to address the needs of the workers in the informal economy, including direct assistance, policy development and community engagement for workers. 

The bill also mandates the DOLE to engage in labor market interventions to provide adequate protection for the workers in the informal economy and ensure timely and immediate action for labor concerns as well as security of tenure, job generation and other pertinent concerns, he said. 

Villafuerte also called for easier access by informal sector workers to social security and medical health insurance coverage, as well as protection in designated workplaces against eviction and demolition, and special budget allocation for development programs. 

HB 3465 also aims to ensure, among others, gender equity, non-discrimination, the right to self-organization, just and humane conditions  of work and access to social protection programs and services of informal sector workers.  

Villafuerte’s proposal also includes the creation of a database of informal sector workers in every local government unit so they can be issued identification cards that they can use to avail of services and benefits.