Fire razes NCCC mall in Davao City on Saturday, December 23, 2017. Officials say there were no survivors among individuals trapped in the building. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
The management of Davao City’s NCCC mall has pledged assistance to all of its 660 workers affected by the mall fire last Dec. 23.
NCCC spokesperson Thea Padua said on Wednesday that the affected mall workers would not be displaced from their jobs, rather they would be reassigned to a different department under the same company.
“As early as the first day of the tragedy, top management already decided that the affected workers would not be displaced and instead would be absorbed in our other operations,” Padua said in a statement.
Padua, who is also the NCCC mall public relations manager, further said that workers would continue to receive their regular salaries and benefits even after the company halted its operations after the mall fire.
Meanwhile, Padua said that the management extended its “heartfelt sympathies and deep regret over the tragedy” as top officials of the mall met the relatives of the 24 victims on Dec. 28.
NCCC officials, according to the statement, would also provide support to the bereaved family members who lost their relatives at the mall fire.
“NCCC has been reaching out to all of the victims’ families to work on how they can help them recover from the tragedy,” the statement said.
“NCCC is fully cooperating with the authorities, in support of a full and impartial probe of the tragedy,” it added.
The NCCC, that carried one of Davao’s biggest malls, also thanked the Bureau of Fire Protection, Central 911, NCCC Emergency Action Team (NEAT), the Davao Volunteer Fire Brigade, and Filipino Chinese Firefighters for responding to the fire incident that resulted to the safe evacuation of at least 800 people, including about 90 call center employees.
On Dec. 23, the fire engulfed the four-story NCCC mall that claimed the lived of 38 employees. /jpv
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