Employers who will not allow their employees to work without getting the COVID-19 vaccine will face penalties, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, March 3, Bello said employers could be sanctioned with administrative penalties by the government for implementing a “no vaccine, no work” policy.

“It is not legal for employers to require the employee to be vaccinated [against COVID-19] before they can enter the workplace. There’s no legal basis for that,” Bello said.

The labor chief’s statement comes as unions warned against an “emerging policy” among private firms not allowing their employees to go to work without immunization against COVID-19.

“That will be discrimination,” said Bello, adding that the department will issue guidelines on the matter.

The fear of requiring vaccination in workplaces and establishments was earlier tackled in the Senate plenary during interpellations on the proposed vaccine passport.

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III pointed out that requiring vaccination could be discriminatory against those who do not want to be injected with COVID-19 vaccines.

Last Monday, March 1, vaccine laggard Philippines officially launched its vaccination program with China-donated doses. But some health workers have opposed Sinovac’s CoronaVac, citing its lower efficacy rate of 50.4% from Phase 3 trials in Brazil.

The Food and Drug Administration initially did not recommend Sinovac for health workers, but the Department of Health’s advisory group later gave the green light as it is the only vaccine currently available in the Philippines.

On Thursday, March 4, Senator Joel Villanueva, Senate labor committee chairperson, urged the Department of Labor and Employment to issue the guidelines “immediately.”

“A worker who is not yet immune from [the] virus shouldn’t lose his immunity from being fired arbitrarily,” said Villanueva.

“If it is [a] brand even doctors are rejecting, you can understand where the hesitancy is coming from.” – Rappler.com