Canadian Embassy in Manila declines meeting union leaders on asbestos

Manila, Philippines – “The Ambassador has other commitments throughout that day and he will not be able to attend the event or meet with your representatives. He sends his regrets,” was the reply of the Embassy of Canada on the letter of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), Associated Labor Unions (ALU) and Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) inviting or requesting for an appointment with the Ambassador to receive the statement pushing for asbestos ban and urging Canada to stop mining and exporting asbestos during the International Commemoration Day (ICD) on 28 April 2010.

“Canada supplied 93% of Philippines asbestos imports in 2008 alone. Asbestos imports are used in manufacturing various materials and products which expose workers, their families and the public,” said TUCP Education Director Rafael Mapalo. “Will Canada take responsibility for asbestos deaths and diseases in the Philippines? We wanted to know,” added Mapalo.

“Canada must stop asbestos exports to the Philippines. It should not leave the health and safety of workers and their families and the public in the hands of employers engaged in asbestos businesses and the government,” said ALU National Vice President Gerard Seno. “Canadian laws on asbestos are stricter and implementation better than the Philippines’,” added Seno.

“April 28 commemorates the dead and injured workers due to unsafe workplaces. Workplaces around the world must protect workers from health and safety hazards, including from asbestos exposure. Canada should have shown its concern for workers who died or were afflicted with asbestos diseases by accepting the trade union statement on this day,” lamented Apolinar Tolentino of the BWI Asia Pacific Regional Office.

Supporters came in droves

Some 500 workers and other people signed the statement calling for Canada to stop mining and exporting asbestos to the Philippines. The statement also calls for the ratification of ILO Convention 162 on Safety in the Use of Asbestos, fast-tracking the National Program for the Elimination of Asbestos-Related Diseases (NPEAD) and the passage of laws banning asbestos in the Philippines.

The launching of activities five days earlier on 23 April 2010 caught the attention of the public and encouraged more people to sign the statement. The Asbestos Tree – signifying life for the long latency period of asbestos diseases, and death once the disease is diagnosed – at the TUCP main gate along the busy Elliptical Road in Quezon City had to be dressed up every morning to get attention as asbestos messages disappeared every night.

The ICD celebration started with a march of close to 300 people attending a program calling for the ratification of ILO Convention 187 on Promotional Framework on Safety and Health where partners, including the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment, the Director of the International Labor Organization Subregional Office for South-East Asia and the Pacific, trade union leaders and employers, supported the call to protect workers in their workplaces, including from asbestos.

The day ended with a candle light procession along Elliptical Road and torch lighting under the Asbestos Tree to light the path towards asbestos ban. – DMT

source: TUCP

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CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

BOOK THREE

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
Title I
WORKING CONDITIONS AND REST PERIODS
Chapter I
HOURS OF WORK
Art. 82. Coverage. The provisions of this Title shall apply to employees in all establishments and undertakings whether for profit or not, but not to government employees, managerial employees, field personnel, members of the family of the employer who are dependent on him for support, domestic helpers, persons in the personal service of another, and workers who are paid by results as determined by the Secretary of Labor in appropriate regulations.
As used herein, "managerial employees" refer to those whose primary duty consists of the management of the establishment in which they are employed or of a department or subdivision thereof, and to other officers or members of the managerial staff.
"Field personnel" shall refer to non-agricultural employees who regularly perform their duties away from the principal place of business or branch office of the employer and whose actual hours of work in the field cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.
Art. 83. Normal hours of work. The normal hours of work of any employee shall not exceed eight (8) hours a day.
Health personnel in cities and municipalities with a population of at least one million (1,000,000) or in hospitals and clinics with a bed capacity of at least one hundred (100) shall hold regular office hours for eight (8) hours a day, for five (5) days a week, exclusive of time for meals, except where the exigencies of the service require that such personnel work for six (6) days or forty-eight (48) hours, in which case, they shall be entitled to an additional compensation of at least thirty percent (30%) of their regular wage for work on the sixth day. For purposes of this Article, "health personnel" shall include resident physicians, nurses, nutritionists, dietitians, pharmacists, social workers, laboratory technicians, paramedical technicians, psychologists, midwives, attendants and all other hospital or clinic personnel.
Art. 84. Hours worked. Hours worked shall include (a) all time during which an employee is required to be on duty or to be at a prescribed workplace; and (b) all time during which an employee is suffered or permitted to work.
Rest periods of short duration during working hours shall be counted as hours worked.
Art. 85. Meal periods. Subject to such regulations as the Secretary of Labor may prescribe, it shall be the duty of every employer to give his employees not less than sixty (60) minutes time-off for their regular meals.
Art. 86. Night shift differential. Every employee shall be paid a night shift differential of not less than ten percent (10%) of his regular wage for each hour of work performed between ten o’clock in the evening and six o’clock in the morning.
Art. 87. Overtime work. Work may be performed beyond eight (8) hours a day provided that the employee is paid for the overtime work, an additional compensation equivalent to his regular wage plus at least twenty-five percent (25%) thereof. Work performed beyond eight hours on a holiday or rest day shall be paid an additional compensation equivalent to the rate of the first eight hours on a holiday or rest day plus at least thirty percent (30%) thereof.
Art. 88. Undertime not offset by overtime. Undertime work on any particular day shall not be offset by overtime work on any other day. Permission given to the employee to go on leave on some other day of the week shall not exempt the employer from paying the additional compensation required in this Chapter.
Art. 89. Emergency overtime work. Any employee may be required by the employer to perform overtime work in any of the following cases:
a. When the country is at war or when any other national or local emergency has been declared by the National Assembly or the Chief Executive;

b. When it is necessary to prevent loss of life or property or in case of imminent danger to public safety due to an actual or impending emergency in the locality caused by serious accidents, fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake, epidemic, or other disaster or calamity;

c. When there is urgent work to be performed on machines, installations, or equipment, in order to avoid serious loss or damage to the employer or some other cause of similar nature;

d. When the work is necessary to prevent loss or damage to perishable goods; and

e. Where the completion or continuation of the work started before the eighth hour is necessary to prevent serious obstruction or prejudice to the business or operations of the employer.
Any employee required to render overtime work under this Article shall be paid the additional compensation required in this Chapter.

Art. 90. Computation of additional compensation. For purposes of computing overtime and other additional remuneration as required by this Chapter, the "regular wage" of an employee shall include the cash wage only, without deduction on account of facilities provided by the employer.

Source:http://dole.gov.ph

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

BOOK THREE

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
Title I
WORKING CONDITIONS AND REST PERIODS
Chapter I
HOURS OF WORK
Art. 82. Coverage. The provisions of this Title shall apply to employees in all establishments and undertakings whether for profit or not, but not to government employees, managerial employees, field personnel, members of the family of the employer who are dependent on him for support, domestic helpers, persons in the personal service of another, and workers who are paid by results as determined by the Secretary of Labor in appropriate regulations.
As used herein, "managerial employees" refer to those whose primary duty consists of the management of the establishment in which they are employed or of a department or subdivision thereof, and to other officers or members of the managerial staff.
"Field personnel" shall refer to non-agricultural employees who regularly perform their duties away from the principal place of business or branch office of the employer and whose actual hours of work in the field cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.
Art. 83. Normal hours of work. The normal hours of work of any employee shall not exceed eight (8) hours a day.
Health personnel in cities and municipalities with a population of at least one million (1,000,000) or in hospitals and clinics with a bed capacity of at least one hundred (100) shall hold regular office hours for eight (8) hours a day, for five (5) days a week, exclusive of time for meals, except where the exigencies of the service require that such personnel work for six (6) days or forty-eight (48) hours, in which case, they shall be entitled to an additional compensation of at least thirty percent (30%) of their regular wage for work on the sixth day. For purposes of this Article, "health personnel" shall include resident physicians, nurses, nutritionists, dietitians, pharmacists, social workers, laboratory technicians, paramedical technicians, psychologists, midwives, attendants and all other hospital or clinic personnel.
Art. 84. Hours worked. Hours worked shall include (a) all time during which an employee is required to be on duty or to be at a prescribed workplace; and (b) all time during which an employee is suffered or permitted to work.
Rest periods of short duration during working hours shall be counted as hours worked.
Art. 85. Meal periods. Subject to such regulations as the Secretary of Labor may prescribe, it shall be the duty of every employer to give his employees not less than sixty (60) minutes time-off for their regular meals.
Art. 86. Night shift differential. Every employee shall be paid a night shift differential of not less than ten percent (10%) of his regular wage for each hour of work performed between ten o’clock in the evening and six o’clock in the morning.
Art. 87. Overtime work. Work may be performed beyond eight (8) hours a day provided that the employee is paid for the overtime work, an additional compensation equivalent to his regular wage plus at least twenty-five percent (25%) thereof. Work performed beyond eight hours on a holiday or rest day shall be paid an additional compensation equivalent to the rate of the first eight hours on a holiday or rest day plus at least thirty percent (30%) thereof.
Art. 88. Undertime not offset by overtime. Undertime work on any particular day shall not be offset by overtime work on any other day. Permission given to the employee to go on leave on some other day of the week shall not exempt the employer from paying the additional compensation required in this Chapter.
Art. 89. Emergency overtime work. Any employee may be required by the employer to perform overtime work in any of the following cases:
a. When the country is at war or when any other national or local emergency has been declared by the National Assembly or the Chief Executive;

b. When it is necessary to prevent loss of life or property or in case of imminent danger to public safety due to an actual or impending emergency in the locality caused by serious accidents, fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake, epidemic, or other disaster or calamity;

c. When there is urgent work to be performed on machines, installations, or equipment, in order to avoid serious loss or damage to the employer or some other cause of similar nature;

d. When the work is necessary to prevent loss or damage to perishable goods; and

e. Where the completion or continuation of the work started before the eighth hour is necessary to prevent serious obstruction or prejudice to the business or operations of the employer.
Any employee required to render overtime work under this Article shall be paid the additional compensation required in this Chapter.
Art. 90. Computation of additional compensation. For purposes of computing overtime and other additional remuneration as required by this Chapter, the "regular wage" of an employee shall include the cash wage only, without deduction on account of facilities provided by the employer.

Source: Kilusan