Nocturnal nation building: The passage of RA 10151

THE PHILIPPINES has garnered the standing as leader in the thriving BPO (business process outsourcing) sector. This steady route to progress has consequently provided for a substantial increase in employment opportunities for women workers. This has further shifted the paradigm of women’s role within the context of Philippine culture. The rise of the BPO has resulted in the empowerment of the female worker cementing them as viable contributors in the Philippine labor force. The policy of the state which recognizes the role of women in nation-building and their fundamental equality with men before the law has been “

However, despite the ideal principle of gender equality, the rudimentary disparities among men and women still cannot be ignored. This is especially true in the field of labor and employment. This is specifically why under labor law; women are considered a special class of employee who entails added standards of employment and working conditions to accommodate their unique needs.

Among the standards previously included in Labor Law for the benefit of female workers is the “night work prohibition” found in the Labor Code of the Philippines which disallows employers from requiring female workers to render work late at night up to the early hours of the morning. This is in the view of maintaining safe conditions for female workers who may find themselves in precarious situations incidental to night work.

This law however created a discord with regard to the flourishing BPO sector in the Philippines which typically operates on a 24-hour schedule where workers are usually constrained to work during odd hours including late at night until early in the morning. Among these workers who are subjected to “grave shifts” are a substantial amount of female workers who, due to the prohibition, are required to obtain exemptions from the Department of Labor and Employment unlike their male counterparts. This results in a peculiar situation which may be construed as a form of indirect gender discrimination. Such a situation is a sad regression of the progress that our country has made toward the policy of gender equality and the recognition of the role of women in nation building. This is why there was a persistent clamoring for revision of the law on night work prohibition to adapt to the changes in the labor climate brought about by the insurgence of the BPO sector.

THE PASSAGE OF RA 10151

The recent passage of Republic Act No. 10151, entitled “An Act Allowing the Employment of Night Workers,” addresses the discord by abrogating the rule on night work prohibition found in the Labor Code. The law now allows women workers to render work late at night without compromising the occupational standards.

RA 10151 effectuates the repeal of Articles 131 and 132 of the Labor Code which provided for the night work prohibition of female employees.

COVERAGE OF RA 10151

It is worthy to note that the said law does not only apply to female workers, it covers all persons who shall be required to work at night, save for some exceptions such as those employed in special industries like agriculture, stock raising, fishing, maritime transport and inland navigation.

The law provides coverage for workers who work a minimum of seven consecutive hours including the interval from midnight to five o’clock in the morning.

SALIENT FEATURES

RA 10151, apart from being the law that allows night work, also seeks to provide for standards and guidelines for the benefit and well-being of the covered worker.

The law features mandatory provisions which seek to address the various occupational health and safety issues commonly associated with night work.

HEALTH ASSESSMENT, MANDATORY FACILITIES

To guarantee that the workers’ health would not be put in danger due to the tedious nature of night work, a mandatory provision on health assessment has been provided in the law. Under the provision, the workers shall have the right to undergo a health assessment without charge and to receive advice on how to reduce or avoid health problems associated with their work. These health assessments are to be conducted upon the request of the worker and should be available before the worker undertakes the assignment as a night worker as well as in regular intervals during the assignment, and also if the worker experiences health problems attributed to the performance of night work.

The law also mandates that suitable first-aid facilities shall be made available for workers performing night work, including arrangements where such workers, where necessary, can be taken immediately to a place for appropriate treatment.

The employers are likewise required to provide safe and healthful working conditions and adequate or reasonable facilities such as sleeping or resting quarters in the establishment and transportation from the work premises to the nearest point of their residence subject to exceptions and guidelines to be provided by the DoLE.

Added provisions on compensation, social services and night work schedules are also provided to fit the standards of employment apt to the nature of work of night workers.

SPECIFIC MEASURES

Recognizing the unique needs of the female members of the workforce, RA 10151 expressly provides for specific measures for the protection and benefit of female night workers.

It mandates that employers shall provide an alternative to night work for women employees who may miss periods of work by reason of pregnancy and childbirth.

The law provides for gender-sensitive protection for women employees by mandating that “a woman worker shall not be dismissed or given notice of dismissal, except for just or authorised causes provided for in this Code that are not connected with pregnancy, childbirth and childcare responsibilities.” It also further provides that “a woman worker shall not lose the benefits regarding her status, seniority, and access to promotion which may attach to her regular night work position,” referring to the periods that a woman may be forced to miss work by reason of pregnancy and childbirth. The law also provides a requirement that “pregnant women and nursing mothers may he allowed to work at night only if a competent physician, other than the company physician, shall certify their fitness to render night work, and specify, in the ease of pregnant employees, the period of the pregnancy that they can safely work.”

It is a fundamental tenet that labor is a primary social and economic force which is instrumental to nation building. The booming BPO sector is a testament to the value of the Filipino work force where labor has become the country’s hottest new export commodity. For this very reason, policy makers should hold in particular significance the preservation of the Filipino human resource by promulgating the adequate policies for our worker’s protection and benefit lest they find themselves inadvertently slaying the proverbial “goose that laid the golden eggs.”

The passage of RA 10151 is a fitting development to our country’s steady strides to achieve economic advancement. It strikes a balance between the need of workers for adequate standards of employment in occupational health and safety as well as the rapid change in the labor environment due to the growth of the BPO sector. –Amicus Curiae, Mikel F. Rama, Businessworld

(Atty. Mikel F. Rama is an associate of Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices [ACCRALAW, Cebu branch effice. He may be contacted at accralawcebu@pldtdsl.net)