Business Case #2
UnionBank of the Philippines

 

UnionBank of the Philippines (UnionBank) is a publicly-listed universal bank. The company offers a wide range of financial and related products and services. Its core business is corporate finance and consumer finance.

 

Even before the implementation of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), UnionBank has been consistent in keeping employees updated on the latest developments and impacts of COVID-19, as well as health and safety protocols in the workplace. There is temperature reading upon entry to site, alcohol stations per floor, employee travel precautionary guidelines, participants’ meetings guidelines, regular disinfection, weekly building-wide fumigations, COVID-19 FAQs, and UBP COVID-19 hotlines.

 

During the ECQ, Unionbank adopted a work-from-home arrangement for its employees. All bank front-liners followed a rotating scheme for reporting subject to strict health and safety protocols. An “Ubuntu Special Subsidy” was given to all skeleton workforce and critical outsourced service providers.

 

Furthermore, UnionBank has implemented programs and additional benefits to support and protect its employees’ wellbeing:

• Facial masks were distributed to employees
• Employees were provided with laptop with VPN and mobile kits
• Employee assistance program to give employees access to professional counselling services and support
• UnionBank University provides free webinars, virtual class or a self-paced course, and insightful podcasts for continuous employee learning
• Continued implementation of online employee engagement initiatives and wellness programs such as:
  • • ’Kwentong Bank Hero’ where employees share their stories on how they were able to demonstrate the core values of ‘integrity, magis, and ubuntu’ in times of crisis
    • ‘Online Brown Bag’ that covers a variety of topics related to wellness, health and safety, family relationships, life skills, and work-life balance
    • ‘Wellness Weekends’ that focuses on different health theme/s each week in order to provide a well-rounded wellness activity and reach out to various needs, interests, and hobbies of the employees
    • ‘UB Social DistanSing’ which is a mini-concert featuring different UnionBank employees and guests from the bank’s subsidiaries and other partner organizations

The Bank has also been active in helping the community through its ‘COVID-19 Relief Response’ and ‘GoBeyond Communities’ projects.

 

 

 

 

The Philippines is slowly traversing the road to economic recovery. As we move towards the end of the lockdown and anticipate a new normal, policymakers, regulators, and the private sector are now gearing up for continuity and resiliency. Businesses and establishments, which were once directed to temporarily shut down operations due to the imposed enhanced community quarantine, are slowly preparing for the resumption of work.

 

The Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Labor and Employment jointly issued interim guidelines to assist private institutions in developing the minimum health protocols and standards for the workplace to prevent and control the spread of the coronavirus.

 

While some companies have instituted business continuity plans at the onset, many companies, especially the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) which have limited resources and access to information, do not have such plans.

 

In this regard, we would like to respectfully ask our constituents in the business community to share with us your re-entry plans, to include work arrangements, workplace etiquettes, social distancing measures, health and safety protocols, facilities management, and visitor policies, among others.

 

We would like to know how your new normal and post-lockdown offices would look like. We need these stories to show how companies intend to continue their businesses while ensuring the welfare of the workers and their families, suppliers, customers, as well as the community. These cases may also provide guidance to smaller companies on how to navigate the new dynamics of the world of work.

 

We would appreciate getting salient features of your model policies, best practices, and strategic plans on or before 30 July 2020. ECOP will publish them in its website and social media accounts under the series “Business Continues, Business Cares: Strategic Framework towards Re-entry and Recovery”. Please send them to ECOP’s Advocacy, Research and Communications Department ([email protected]).

 

 

 

 

Visit ECOP COVID-19 Center

 

 

 

41st National Conference of Employers

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3-7 August 2020

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