190,000 workers lost jobs this year — DOLE

MANILA, Philippines — Over 190,000 workers nationwide lost their jobs as more establishments folded up or were forced to reduce their workforce, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday.

Based on its job displacement report, a total of 190,024 workers were displaced following permanent closure and retrenchment of workers in 10,177 establishments from January to the present.

DOLE said 89 percent or 9,100 of the reporting establishments opted to reduce their workforce, which affected 170,939 workers, while 1,077 companies employing 19,085 permanently closed shop.

The National Capital Region (NCR) accounted for the biggest number of displaced workers with 94,736, followed by Calabarzon with 35,908 and Central Luzon with 19,872.

Other regions with high number of displacements are Central Visayas with 13,459, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with 5,503 and Davao region with 3,953.

DOLE tallied the biggest number of displacements in the month of June with 50,589 followed by August with 38,636 and July with 36,853.

Aside from permanent displacement, DOLE also recorded a total of 3,140,651 workers affected by flexible work arrangements (FWAs) and temporary closure (TC) of firms.

DOLE noted that 111,298 establishments resorted to FWAs and TC from March to Sept. 6 in an effort to cope with the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID) pandemic.

Of the total number of establishments, DOLE said 29,357 firms employing 1,256,391 workers adopted FWAs and 83,837 establishments resorted to TC thus affecting 2,014,650 workers.

Following this, the militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) yesterday urged legislators to back and immediately pass a bill granting financial aid for displaced workers.

KMU chairman Elmer Labog said the passage and implementation of House Bill 7590 or the Unemployment Benefits Act of 2020 will help provide support for workers so they could do their best in reviving the economy.

Under the proposed measure, workers, including those from the informal economy, who have been involuntarily separated from their occupations shall receive aid equal to the average amount of the worker’s compensation in the last 36 months.

For those who have worked for less than 36 months, Labog said the average pay would be computed based on the months they have been employed. Both amounts should not be less than P10,000.

He added that the budget for intelligence funds in the Office of the President and several other offices could be rechanneled into funds for this cash aid.

“You see, we have the money! It is just the misplaced priorities and corruption of this government that is preventing us, workers, from receiving the aid we rightfully deserve,” Labog claimed.

Meanwhile, to raise public awareness on the government programs amid the coronavirus disease pandemic, DOLE is mounting a weekly online “media kapihan.”

“V-Cafe@ DOLE” will feature key official from DOLE and any of its 59 attached agencies, bureaus, offices, and the various Philippine Overseas Labor Offices and regional and field offices.

“It is during crisis when the people need news and information the most. And as government prepares for the recovery, we need to enhance our capacity to keep the people abreast of what the government is doing,” said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello, the featured resource person for tomorrow’s inaugural edition of V-Café.

He added that the “weekly online talakayan adheres to current protocols on social distancing while helping usher in the new normal in media engagements and the conduct of public discourse on the web.”

Bello said DOLE opts to take advantage of the growing reliance on online platforms for group meetings while also ensuring the safety of media practitioners.

The agency hopes to improve the DOLE information campaign on COVID-19 as the country continues to grapple with the pandemic.