Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Friday filed Senate Bill 498, seeking to require mandatory insurance coverage and additional benefits for workers in the power transmission and distribution sector.
“They perform both critical and dangerous work. Yet a number of them do so bereft of any form of coverage against death, accidents, illness, and other fortuitous events that could be sustained in the line of duty,” Escudero lamented.
The proposed Line Workers Insurance and Benefits Act would compel private distribution utilities, electric cooperatives, and transmission or grid operators to provide insurance coverage along with retirement and disability benefits, death and burial assistance, and reimbursement of medical expenses.
The bill also covers drivers, helpers, and support personnel deployed with line workers during construction and maintenance activities.
Employers would shoulder the full cost of insurance premiums, which cannot be deducted from workers’ salaries.
Escudero said the measure is patterned after House Bill 7561, which was approved by the House of Representatives during the 19th Congress.
The bill is pending before the Senate Committees on Energy and Labor, with Escudero expressing hope it would be taken up when the session resumes next week.
