Work-from-home employees’ inclusion in A4 COVID vaccination priority list pushed

 RICHARD A. REYES / INQUIRER

MANILA, Philippines — Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III is appealing to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) to include employees who are working from home in the A4 priority group for COVID-19 vaccination.

Bello noted that employees under the work-from-home setup still have to leave their residence and report to their office from time to time or carry out other tasks.

“’Yun nga ang desisyon ng IATF na hindi muna kasama sa A4, pero ako nakiki-usap, kasi ‘yung mga nagtatrabaho sa work from home, hindi naman nangangahulugan na hindi na sila papasok,” Bello told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo on Monday.

(The decision of the IATF was to not include work-from-home employees in the A4, but I am appealing to them to include such employees in the priority group. It does not mean that just because an employee is working from home, he or she would no longer have to go to the office.)

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III   (INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)

“Kasi pupunta sila, meron silang report na gagawin, work from home ‘yun, pero pagsubmit ng report nila, anong gagawin nila? Kailangan pumunta pa rin sila [sa opisina],” he explained.

(They are working from home but when they submit reports or projects, what will they do? They still have to go to their offices.)

“May mga instances na ‘yung work from home, they have to report to office. ‘Yung pagkuha pa ng sweldo nila, diba? Nakikiusap lang naman ako sa IATF na kung maaari icover na rin sila,” he further said.

(There are instances that those working from home have to report to their offices. They also go out to receive their salaries, right? I am appealing to the IATF to cover those working from home in the A4.)

He said the matter may be discussed by government officials in a meeting later this Monday.

Bello made appeal when asked about the proposal of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to simplify the A4 category and include all workers, except those working from home.

gsg