Flu-infected employees can seek compensation from SSS, GSIS

MANILA, Philippines – Workers from both the government and the private sector who have been infected with the A(H1N1) virus can now seek compensation from the Employees’ Compensation Commission through the Social Security System or the Government Service Insurance System.

This was revealed by the camp of Sen. Manny Villar, which said employees can seek payment for “temporary total disability,” either through the government financing institutions GSIS (for state workers) or with SSS (for private employees).

“We were informed that the ECC has already classified infection with Influenza A(H1N1) as a compensable sickness, and rightly so,” said former Cavite congressman Gilbert Remulla, spokesman for Villar’s Nacionalista Party.

He said workers who are able to show proof that they got exposed to Influenza A(H1N1) at work will have no problem getting reimbursement from the ECC for treatment and medical expenses incurred.

“We would encourage workers who get infected with Influenza A(H1N1) to file their claims with the SSS or the GSIS, where all claims against the ECC are submitted,” Remulla said.

He said the ECC’s decision to categorize infection as a compensable illness should encourage more workers who manifest symptoms of the ailment to have themselves checked up, instead of just reporting sick, staying home and resorting to self-medication.

“The check-ups ensure that potentially infected personnel get properly diagnosed and treated right away, and enable employers and health authorities to more closely monitor, prevent and control the spread of the virus in the workplace,” Remulla said.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines warned that as a result of the spread of the virus, the country could see the number of workers wishing to, or being required to stay home suddenly rise to a level that could further threaten the already fragile economy.

TUCP had also urged corporations to quickly draw up “contingent business continuity plans” ahead of what the Department of Health called the “second wave” of the Influenza A(H1N1) pandemic.

The Philippines now ranks eighth worldwide in terms of laboratory-confirmed cases of Influenza A(H1N1), according to the World Health Organization.

The DOH last reported a total of 1,709 cases, including one death, as of July 6.

An attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment, the ECC is a quasi-judicial corporate entity that oversees the Employees’ Compensation Program.

The program provides a package of benefits for public and private sector employees and their dependents in the event of work-connected contingencies such as sickness, injury, disability or death. –Delon Porcalla, Philippine Star