ILOILO City – Job retrenchments and closure of businesses due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic have displaced 2,922 workers in Western Visayas, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) but this could still increase.
The region’s unemployment rate, at 13.7 in April this year, could go up.
So far, 278 establishments retrenched 2,207 employees while 81 establishments decided to permanently close, putting 715 persons out of work, said DOLE Region 6 information officer Niezel Anen Sabrido.
Businesses which either retrenched employees or permanently closed belonged to these economic sectors: manufacturing, hotel accommodation and food services, information and communication sector, administrative and support service, and financial insurance.
“In 2019 the unemployment rate was around five to six percent. This year as of April, it was at 13.7 percent already. We noted that most business closures and job retrenchments happened in the months of June and July so the unemployment rate would further go up,” said Sabrido.
Displaced workers should know that they could avail themselves of government assistance. Sabrido cited, among others, the unemployment insurance benefit of the Social Security System (SSS).
DOLE, Sabrido said, has the COVID TUPAD program or Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers – a community-based package of assistance.
It gives emergency employment to displaced workers, underemployed and seasonal workers for a minimum period of 10 days. The daily wage is P395.
In March, DOLE had a limited program called “Adjustment Measures Program for Affected Workers Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)” or simply CAMP – a safety net program that offered financial support to affected workers in private establishments that adopted Flexible Working Arrangements (FWAs) or temporary closure due to the pandemic.
It covered workers in private establishments affected by the pandemic from its onset in January until the lifting of the stringent quarantine measures on April 14.
CAMP provided financial assistance to cover the remaining unpaid leaves of workers affected by the quarantine. A one-time financial assistance equivalent to P5,000 was provided to affected workers in lump sum, non-conditional, regardless of employment status.
Aside from the financial assistance, CAMP also provided affected works access to available job opportunities suitable to their qualifications through job matching, referral and placement services either for local or overseas employment./PN
