DOLE Family Welfare Program Services Directive

Department Order No. 56-03 provides the framework describing the Family Welfare Program carried out in the workplace by the employer through a Family Welfare Committee (FWC) or similar workplace-based special body.
Administrative Order No. 209 of 2004 continues to guide FWP implementers through use of a Checklist of Priority Activities Related to FWP Implementation for promotion and monitoring.
The advisory aligns DOLE family welfare efforts with Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) objectives and the country’s commitments as a signatory to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The advisory uses Department of Health (DOH) structures and service package terminology, including delivery through Centers for Health Development (CHD) and National Center for Disease Prevention and Control (NCDPC).

DOLE issues the advisory to promote the welfare of workers and their families while contributing to MTPDP objectives linked to MDGs.
DOLE directs intensified implementation of the Family Welfare Program in all establishments, in collaboration with partner agencies and organizations.
DOLE emphasizes workplace-based delivery through formation, strengthening, and federation of plant-level FW committees.
DOLE links family welfare services with family health program services delivered under DOH family health programming.

A Family Welfare Program is the DOLE-promoted program that provides family welfare services to workers as described under Department Order No. 56-03.
A Family Welfare Committee (FWC) is the workplace-based special body composed of representatives of labor, management, and the plant clinic (if there is any), through which the employer carries out the FWP.
Family Health Program Services is the collective term of the DOH for the different services included in its package of Family Health Program Services in the Workplace.
FWP implementer refers to the entity tasked with promoting and monitoring FWP-related activities using the prescribed checklist and reporting system guidance referenced in Administrative Order No. 209 of 2004.

DOLE Regional Offices and their Field Offices must target establishment coverage by prioritizing setting-up and strengthening of FWC.
FWC targeting must cover all establishments employing 200 workers or more.
FWC targeting must also cover unionized establishments within the Regional Offices’ areas.
DOLE Regional Offices must ensure that by end of 2010, all or 100% of such establishments have FWC or similar special in-plant bodies carrying out family welfare services.
DOLE Regional Offices and their Field Offices must provide assistance to establishments with less than 100 workers and/or no unions if they are interested and willing to form a committee.
DOLE Regional Offices must encourage the formation of Federations of FW Committees or similar bodies engaged in promoting the FWP in their areas.

DOLE Regional Offices and their Field Offices are responsible for the targeting, setting-up, and strengthening of FWCs in covered establishments.
DOLE Regional Offices and their Field Offices must provide assistance to smaller or non-union establishments that voluntarily seek to form a committee for FWP.
DOLE Regional Offices must encourage federation formation to facilitate broader promotion of the FWP through coordinated plant-level committee efforts.
The advisory assigns the Bureau of Women and Young Workers the role to monitor FWP implementation and guide FWP implementers in promotion efforts toward formation of plant-level FW committees and their federation.
In relation to the Income Generation or Livelihood component of the FWP, the advisory directs DOLE Regional Offices to promote the Workers’ Income Augmentation Program (WINAP) for the benefit of qualified FWC or federation of FWC.

Administrative Order No. 209 of 2004 continues to guide FWP implementers through the Checklist of Priority Activities Related to FWP Implementation.
The checklist must guide both the promotion and monitoring of FWP-related activities.
Regional Offices must keep on file the Accomplished Checklists for ready reference when accomplishing the Statistical Performance Reporting System (SPRS) and other reports.
The Bureau of Women and Young Workers monitors FWP implementation and guides implementers toward the formation and federation of FW committees.
Regional Offices must integrate checklist completion into ongoing reporting workflows using the SPRS and other required reporting mechanisms referenced in the advisory.

The FWP implementer must link the FWC or Federation of FWC with the DOH through the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control (NCDPC) and its regional-level implementing arm, the Centers for Health Development (CHD).
The advisory assigns CHD field personnel the responsibility for implementation and monitoring of the DOH Family Health Program Services for the benefit of the worker and the worker’s family.
CHD field personnel must collect employer reports and other health service requirements tied to DOH family health delivery.
DOLE Regional Offices and CHD collaborative and coordinative activities must extend to information dissemination on nutrition, hygiene and sanitation, and promotion of a drug-free workplace, among other common program concerns.

DOLE enjoins intensified FWP implementation through collaboration and coordination with partner agencies, family welfare federations, and other relevant organizations.
DOLE enjoins workplace-based family welfare service delivery through employer-facilitated committee structures (FWC or similar in-plant bodies).
DOLE enjoins DOLE Regional Offices and Field Offices to pursue FWC establishment and strengthening to reach the specified end of 2010 coverage objective.
DOLE directs coordinated health programming through DOH service channels (NCDPC and CHD) linked to workplace family welfare committee structures.