The labor department has reminded employers in the private sector to provide their senior citizens and differently-abled workers with equal wages and benefits.
Labor Assistant Secretary Benjo Santos Benavidez made the advise following the surfacing of photos on various social media sites such as Facebook of senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) working for fast food chains and restaurants in Metro Manila.
“We noticed this good development in companies who employ senior citizens and PWDs because of the intensified advocacy of the government. However, we would like to remind them that these senior citizens and PWD workers are also entitled to equal wages and opportunities in the workplace,” Benavidez said.
In the fast-food industry, he said the four-hour work scheme of the employed senior citizens and PWDs should also be according to the minimum wage law while working for more than eight hours should be compensated with appropriate overtime pay.
“The department is glad to receive these reports because they are being given the chance to have income and participate in the economic activity of the country despite their age or disability,” the labor senior official added.
He said the government has policies that promote equal access to employment regardless of their gender, ability, and age, such as the Anti-Age Discrimination law which strictly prohibits any employer from discriminating a person from access to work because of their age.
Section 4 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 10911 or the Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act states that employers are prohibited to discriminate the employment of an applicant and a worker in terms of age through any forms of publication or advertisement relating to employment, or decline employment application, promotion, or training opportunities due to the individual’s age.
The DOLE issued the IRR on February 2, 2017.
The DOLE senior official said the law exempts the employers to set age limitations during job hiring in a certain situation, particularly if the skills are bonafide for the occupation.
“There are exemptions to the law. It only allows limiting the acceptance of workers with a younger age if the job skills are bonafide for the occupation or if it can have a detrimental effect on the health of the worker. Examples of those are for policemen, construction workers, and others,” Benavidez explained.
To aid the employers in enforcing the law, the labor department conducts frequent visits and seminars to encourage them to hire differently-abled persons and senior citizens and avail of the benefits of implementing the law such as the tax incentives schemes.