COVID-19 may be considered as work-related disease

by Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star), 4 Feb 2021

MANILA, Philippines — COVID-19 may soon be officially declared as an occupational and compensable illness.

At a virtual briefing yesterday, Occupational Safety and Health Center director general Noel Binag said that after a thorough study, the OSHC recommended the declaration of COVID as a work-related disease for certain professions and industries.

“Last Monday, we had a meeting with the governing board and we recommended (that COVID-19) could be declared as a work-related disease,” Binag said in mixed English and Filipino.

“The (ECC) governing board will study our recommendation and probably in the soonest time, it will come out with a resolution adopting, probably, our recommendations,” he added, referring to the Employees’ Compensation Commission.

Binag, however, stressed that their recommendation to declare COVID as a work-related illness is only limited to high-risk groups.

Among jobs considered as highly at risk of acquiring COVID-19 are medical frontliners, military, police and grocery store workers.

“(Workers in) these jobs are known to be highly exposed to the public because of the nature of their work and are therefore prone to get infected with COVID,” the OSHC chief said.

Binag noted that the ECC had previously sought the assistance of the OSHC in conducting a study on the threat of COVID in the workplace.

If the ECC’s governing board issues the resolution, he said qualified beneficiaries could easily claim for compensation from the ECC.

Those who are not under the so-called high-risk groups may still apply for compensation, but just need to prove that they acquired the infection from their workplace. Binag, however, admitted that doing so is difficult.

“We cannot really ascertain that they have contracted this disease in the workplace or in the community. So unless it could be proven through evidence that it is work-acquired (they cannot claim for compensation),” he said.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) has been pushing for the declaration of COVID-19 as an occupational illness to make it easier for workers to claim compensation from the ECC.

The FFW noted that workers have to carry the burden of proving that they acquired the infection at work when availing themselves of compensation if COVID is not considered as an occupational disease.

Binag stressed that employers are mandated to ensure the safety and health of workers from accidents and diseases, including COVID.