Employers reject mandatory WFH

DOLE, ECOP favor flexible work arrangement

- DEXTER BARRO II and TRIXIE ROSEL

The country's largest group of employers is urging the government to allow companies to implement their own flexible work schemes, rather than imposing an industry-wide work-from-home (WFH) policy, during the upcoming rehabilitation work on EDSA.

With preparatory works on the EDSA Rebuild set to begin this month, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said the government must be swift in its response to the expected gridlock along Metro Manila's busiest highway.

ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said the business group is agreeable to a hybrid work-from-home setup to ease the daily burden of employees from commuting, which will likely be affected by the heavy traffic. He said this work scheme will make it easier for employees to perform their duties, similar to what happened during the Covid-19 pandemic when workers were forced to stay in their homes as a measure to curb the spread of the virus.

DOLE favors flexible arrangements