Benguet solon pushes low retirement age of miners

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The retirement age of surface mine workers from 60 to 50 years old would be lowered to conform with retirement age of their underground counterparts once a bill filed in Congress would be approved.

House Bill 5125 authored by Benguet Rep. Ronald M. Cosalan seeks to amend the provision of Republic Act (RA) 8282 or the Social Security System (SSS) Law to lower retirement age of underground and surface mine workers.

Republic Act 8558 amended Section 287 of Presidential Decree No. 442 known as Labor Code of the Philippines to reduce retirement age of underground mine workers or employees from 60 to 50 years old because of their exposure to hazardous elements and risk which are inevitable when working in mines, making them vulnerable to health problems and danger. 

“Even mill plant workers and those who worked as support services such as mechanical, electrical and tailings pond personnel who are classified as surface mine workers are likewise susceptible and vulnerable to the same hazards, hence, the need to also reduce the retirement age of surface mine workers in order for them to be able to be given similar treatment as their underground counterparts,” Cosalan said.

Cosalan said in the rules prescribing retirement age of underground mine employees as issued by the labor department, the said agency reduced retirement age of underground mine workers to 50 years old, in compliance with RA 8558.

The lawmaker’s proposed bill to include the surface mine workers in the lowered retirement age of their underground counterparts is now pending before the House committee on labor.

However, Cosalan said SSS officials requested for time to fully implement the lowered retirement age for underground mine workers because the significant reduction in the retirement age would be detrimental to the financial status of the SSS.

 As partial compliance to RA 8558, the lawmaker said SSS revised its implementing rules and regulations and reduced retirement age of underground mine workers to 55 years old with the agreement that it would reduce the same to 50 years old to comply with the law in the future.

Cosalan disclosed underground mine workers aged 50 had to wait for five more years before being able to avail of their retirement benefits and that the same went on for more than a decade.

Cosalan said a clarification of RA 8558 should be made to prevent any future legal consequences which may be considered unfair and unnecessarily detrimental to the hardworking underground and surface mine workers, thus, the passage of the measure is sought to address all queries and for the surface and underground mine workers to retire early and enjoy the remaining years in their lives. – Dexter A. See