THE CITY government of Manila and labor unions are finally on the same page on the health certificate issue, with both parties agreeing that while compliance is important, its implementation should not be burdensome on workers.
In a Facebook post on Sept. 16, the Manila Health Department said it had reached “key agreements” with labor unions concerning the health certificate following a “productive dialogue” on Sept. 9.
Manila agreed to ease the requirements to obtain the health certificate, including accepting laboratory test results from facilities selected by private schools, instead of requiring workers to undergo testing at the city’s public health laboratory.
Current employees will no longer be required to undergo mandatory drug testing, although they may still be subjected to random screening. New job applicants will be required to undergo drug testing.
“All parties acknowledged the importance of health compliance while ensuring that the implementation process does not create undue burdens on employees,” the Manila Health Department said.
“The meeting concluded with a commitment from all stakeholders to continue collaborating in addressing any future concerns and working toward a more efficient and equitable process for health certificate acquisition,” it added.
The dialogue was attended by Manila Health Department chief Dr. Arnold “Poks” Pangan, Manila sanitation chief Manny Taguba, and Councilor Louisito Chua of the city’s fourth district and the principal author of City Ordinance 8793.
Also in attendance were Assoc. Prof. Rene Tadle, spokesperson of the Organisasyon ng Nagkakaisang Empleyado ng UST (ONE-UST) and president of the Arts and Letters Faculty Association, and representatives of the Educational Industry Tripartite Council (EITC).
The latest dialogue seemingly put to rest months of debate over the city ordinance.
Labor unions had criticized not just the implementation of the policy but City Ordinance 8793 itself, which mandates all workers to obtain an annual health certificate. The document costs P625.
The EITC had complained that the ordinance “suffers from legal infirmity” and was “downright restrictive, unreasonable, and oppressive,” particularly its requirement that all tests be conducted exclusively at the city’s laboratory.
Unions had also criticized the mandatory drug test included in the requirements to obtain a health certificate, pointing out that this contradicted existing drug laws that only require random drug screening.
The Manila Health Department said it expected to conduct more dialogues to iron out the details of a new memorandum on the health certificate requirement.
ONE-UST issued its own statement on the dialogue on Sept. 10. Janica Kate J. Buan
