By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan | Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Partido Reporma senatorial candidate Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said workers who have been under the work from home arrangement since the start of the pandemic, particularly from the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, should be given enough period of adjustment before they are required to go back to their offices.
He added that the apprehensions of the workers about the safety of traveling and staying in the offices should be considered since some of them are either living with babies and toddlers who are not yet vaccinated, or with parents and loved ones with comorbidities.
“Hangga’t may nao-ospital pa at may nasasawi sa COVID-19 ay hindi pa totally safe ang ating sitwasyon. Napakarami ng naospital at marami din ang binawian ng buhay sa nakalipas na dalawang taon at para sa iba ay isang trauma ito lalo na at kung naranasan nila ito sa kanilang pamilya (As long as there are people being hospitalized and dying of COVID-19, we cannot consider our situation truly safe. A lot of people were hospitalized and died of the disease in the past two years it is still traumatic for some especially if a member of their family were among those affected),” Eleazar said statement on Saturday.
Another reason that should be factored in, Eleazar said, is the increase in the prices of basic goods and services due to the series of oil price hikes that was aggravated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The national government is planning to have all workers return to their offices by Apr. 1 to stimulate spending in a bid to revive the economy that was severely affected by the pandemic.
So far, the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) denied requests to extend remote-work arrangements as the COVID-19 situation in the country continues to improve.
Eleazar said the national government should also be open to the idea that some companies would still observe a work from home setup and some of them may adopt a blended work arrangement wherein a sufficient number of workers would be on-site while others are working in their homes.
He also said workers and employees continue to be productive while they are in the comforts of their homes. (PNA) – bny