Frontline workers deserve respect and recognition

This year’s Labor Day observance is different from last year. As the government continues to search for the right combination of health and safety protocols that would complement the measures to reopen the economy, the significant contribution of Filipino workers to the overall national welfare comes to the fore.

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COVID-19 has pushed the frontliners to the forefront of national consciousness. The meaning of frontliners has been expanded and broadened beyond doctors, nurses and other critical health care workers. It now includes public transport drivers, supermarket cashiers and baggers, delivery crew motorcycle riders, and security guards.

In the vaccination priority list, category A4 has been expanded to include 19 subgroups. While there is category “A4.2 – frontline government workers in the justice, security, transport, and social protection sectors,” there is also category “A4.6 – frontline government workers” in general; and “A4.11 – Construction workers in government infrastructure projects.”