As the country braces for severe climate impacts driven by the onset of a super El Niño weather phenomenon, major labor organizations are intensifying pressure on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to institute mandatory, legally binding heat safety standards to protect workers across all sectors.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and the Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) are calling on DOLE to issue a formal Department Order that explicitly outlines employer mandates, acceptable workplace thermal limits, and strict penalties for non-compliance. The unions warned that voluntary guidelines issued by management fail to shield vulnerable laborers from escalating heat risks.
‘Extreme heat is a matter of life and death. Workers demand and deserve enforceable standards, clear employer obligations, and penalties for noncompliance, not another appeal for voluntary cooperation while their health and lives are at risk,’ TUCP said in a joint appeal.
To fast-track these protections, TUCP urged DOLE to immediately convene an emergency meeting of the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council, bringing together government, labor, and employer stakeholders to draft and finalize a comprehensive Super El Niño Heat Risk Action Plan.
‘Heat protection is our shared legal and moral obligation, not a mere privilege granted at management’s discretion,’ the union federation emphasized.
Clear wage guarantees
Sentro acknowledged statements from Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino assuring that workers will not face pay deductions during heat-induced work stoppages. However, the organization stressed that without explicit administrative rules, such verbal guarantees remain difficult to enforce on the ground.
‘Workers must not have to choose between risking heat stroke and losing their income,’ said Sentro Secretary General Josua Mata.
Sentro is demanding that DOLE detail exactly how wage protections will apply under various employment arrangements, including shortened operational shifts, full-day suspensions, piece-rate (pakyaw) work, and incentive-based pay models.
The group is also pushing for regulations requiring companies to set science-based exposure limits, institute mandatory rest schedules in cooled designated spaces, and order immediate work halts when temperatures reach hazardous thresholds.
TUCP added specific workplace demands, including mandatory paid breaks in shaded or air-conditioned areas, unhindered access to free drinking water, continuous heat-stress monitoring, emergency medical protocols for heat-related illnesses, improved ventilation systems, and mandatory safety training for staff.
Informal sector
While physical interventions like fans, proper ventilation, and engineering controls can mitigate heat exposure in factories and warehouses, labor leaders warned that millions of outdoor and informal economy workers remain completely unprotected.
Street vendors, waste pickers, agricultural workers, fishermen, and gig-economy delivery riders face the double burden of hazardous weather conditions and catastrophic income loss when extreme heat prevents them from working. To bridge this gap, Sentro is advocating for temporary, government-funded income support and emergency relief funds during officially declared heat emergencies.
Additionally, Mata called on state agencies and academic research institutions to systematically track heat-related occupational illnesses, lost working hours, lost income, and gaps in current social safety nets.
‘We need evidence, not assumptions,’ Mata stressed, pointing out that comprehensive data is essential to identify the most vulnerable worker demographics and calculate the true cost of safeguarding their lives and livelihoods.