The "no vaccine, no ride" and the "no vaccine, no labas" policies of the government are discriminatory and are forms of persecution, according to the spokesperson of the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU - TUCP).
According to ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay, the policies are "problematic" for workers because this would mean additional expenses for them just to reach their workplaces.
"Malinaw 'yan na diskrminasyon. Isang uri rin yan ng persecution dahil pinersecute mo sila sa pamamagitan pagpapahirap," Tanjusay told DZRH on Sunday.
(That is clear discrimination. That is also a form of persecution because they are persecuting them by making things difficult for them.)
The spokesperson added that the policies are in violation of the Republic Act 11525, or the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021, which states that "vaccine cards shall not be considered as an additional mandatory requirement for educational, employment, and other similar government transaction purposes."
Tanjusay said this would also cause inconvenience to commuters because a lot of jeepney and bus drivers remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 and will not be able to ply the roads starting Monday.
"Mapipilitan ang mga manggagawa na maghanap ng karagdagang masasakyan," he said.
(Workers will be forced to find other modes of transportation.)
The spokesperson explained that a lot of workers outside the National Capital Region (NCR) remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 due to a number of reasons, including accessibility, bad experience, and misinformation.
"Unang-una 'yung access, sa Metro Manila masasabi natin na marami nang bakunado at marami nang access site pero sa mga probinsyang nakapaligid sa NCR kung saan marami ang mga manggagawang doon umuuwi pero sa Metro Manila nagtatrabaho, walang access. Mahirap makakuha ng schedule, mahirap makakuha ng mga walk-in," he explained.
(First is access, in Metro Manila we can say that many are vaccinated and there are a lot of access sites. But in provinces surrounding NCR where a lot of workers return home, there is no access. It is difficult to find a schedule and difficult for walk-in.)
"At higit sa lahat, masama yung karanasan nila dun sa first dose kaya hindi sila nagse-second dose," he added.
(Most of all, they also had a bad experience with the first dose so they never came back for their second.)
In addition, misinformation on the effects of the vaccines from family and co-workers also discourages those who want to get vaccinated.
"So marami sa mga manggagawa ang hindi pa talaga bakunado at hindi pa kumpleto ang vaccine," he said.
(So there are a lot of workers who remain unvaccinated and have not completed their vaccine.)
Tanjusay, however, stressed that while their union is not mandating vaccinations, they are encouraging their members to get the jabs.
"So TUCP hindi namin maaring pilitin ang mga manggagawa na magpabakuna dahil sila ang may-ari ng kanilang katawan," he said.
(In the TUCP, we are not forcing workers to get vaccinated because they own their own bodies.)
However, the union has been sharing information about the jabs from the government to their workers so they can decide for themselves if they want to get vaccinated.
The "no vaccine, no ride" policy of the government prohibits unvaccinated individuals from accessing public transportation unless they are going to vaccination sites.
The "no vaccine, no labas" policy, on the other hand, prohibits unvaccinated individuals from leaving their homes unless for essential reasons.
