Dangerous jobs: The pay scale and insurance coverage equation

When all things are peaches-and-cream, we always look at life as some sort of a party! Then whoops, disasters or tragedies could just suddenly whack us in the head – it’s not always the kind of Lovecraftian creeps, but adversity happens – including in our work places.

Think of “Deepwater Horizon” – the deadliest industrial disaster of the oil and gas industry in this century; or the cosmic horror of restoring crumbled energy infrastructure facilities in death-dealing weather conditions such as the traumatic super typhoon “Yolanda” in 2013 – have you ever pondered on the life and welfare of the unflinching men and women braving very dangerous conditions in the field?

And with typhoon “Ompong” just scaring the living daylights out of many of us just last week, primarily the Filipinos up north – it smacks us with the realization that life threats are indeed real in the confines of our homes – and more so, in the work arena for personnel who are out there “in the cold and in the dark” working double time to bring back the comforts we deemed we deserve to regain in each strike of tragedies.

It raises questions on resiliency and disaster preparedness, but as public impatience heightens – either because they are in the rack and ruin of blackouts or desired outcomes on disaster management had been coming too slow – one knows it too well that there could be no room for mistakes.

And for the companies deploying these employees in the field – what does it take for them to ensure their welfare and protection?

Insurance premiums for dangerous jobs

Manila Electric Company (Meralco), the country’s biggest power utility of which corporate existence already stretches 115 years and has a human resource base of more than 5,500 employees, had already seen many of these calamities knockdown not just its facilities – but also quashed the spirits of its linemen and crew being dispatched in the field.

In the list of dangerous jobs in the world, electrical power line installers and repairers make up the roll, along with miners, construction workers (including those in power facilities); and offshore oil drilling workers – at least that’s for the energy sector.

“Employee welfare is one of Meralco’s top priorities. Therefore, we provide all our employees with adequate life, health and accident insurance plans,” Meralco Assistant Vice President and Spokesperson Joe R. Zaldarriaga said.

The insurance and retirement plan coverage of Meralco executives and employees are pooled in an account held in a bank – which they can then readily avail of upon reaching retirement age or on qualified years of service; or when specified insurance coverage are needed either for health reasons or work-induced hazards. “The fund is well managed by a separate board of trustees who ensures that the fund will remain sustainable,” Zaldarriaga said.

For Shell Philippines,

of which upstream business covers the operation of the Malampaya gas platform in Palawan, a company officer indicated that they provide “disability/death in service benefit in cases of disablement or death.” The oil firm executive explained that “it is a lump sum amount, which is based on qualifying years of service.”

In addition, Shell employees “are offered an optional benefit of availing a life insurance (group term life insurance) via an external vendor at a much lower premium compared to what is offered in the market.”

For Meralco, concomitant and equally important to tangible financial benefits, according to Zaldarriaga, is for the company to “provide intensive training programs that aim to prevent untoward incidents for our employees while on the job.” Meralco is one company that prides itself of having zero-accident record even for its personnel dispatched at dangerous zones.

For Shell companies in the Philippines – both at its downstream and upstream operations, the oil firm executive noted that “employees become part of the retirement plan upon confirmation or regularization,” and they are also into onboarding and well oriented with financial planning that they can take advantage of relative to their benefits.