‘Solid plan key to easing workers’ pandemic pain’

Workers, labor groups look to DOLE, lawmakers to fill the gaps in the government response to their sector’s pains during the pandemic—hopeful that moving forward, the pain will be better shared among all stakeholders.

By Samuel Medenilla, Businessmirror, 8 Oct 2020

In this May 20, 2020 file photo, garment workers in Taytay, Rizal, whose livelihood was temporarily disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, find themselves having to contend with the new norms of wearing face masks and physical distancing as they go back to work, along with the constant fear of contracting the virus as they travel to work.

EDNEE Marie Alburo had been anxiously awaiting word on whether she will keep or lose her job at a factory in Cebu.

The 29-year-old seamstress was among the 4,000 workers who were retrenched by five clothing manufacturing firms at the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) due to the steep drop in demand caused by the pandemic.

However, unlike her other displaced colleagues, the single mother of two refused the offer of a separation pay of P53,000 and two sacks of rice.

“The offer is just too small since I still have small children and I am the breadwinner,” Alburo told the BusinessMirror in phone interview.

After working since 2015 for Metro Wear Inc.—which manufactures jackets, pants and shirts for popular brands like Under Armour and Adidas—she thought she will get more.

Upon the recommendation of a friend, Alburo sought the assistance of the labor group Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) and asked for advice on how she could get back to work.

Sentro told Alburo to file an illegal dismissal case against her employer, which she did.

However, existing regulations of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) required her and the human resources representative of Metro Wear to meet on October 14 to first undergo mandatory conciliation and mediation.

Borrowed time

Alburo said she wants to keep her job at Metro Wear as the pandemic has limited employment options for workers like her.

During her tenure in Metro Wear, Alburo said she would work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to produce 312 pieces of clothing, which are worth P4,000 to P5,000, depending on the brand.

City workers bike their way to work to cope with the challenges of public commute coupled with the fear of getting infected with the coronavirus, July 2, 2020.

Alburo is considered a veteran seamstress, but she admitted that her daily quota—which was not reduced despite the onset of the pandemic in March—had put significant pressure on her. She said, however, that she managed to hit her daily quota.

In exchange for her hard work, she was paid a monthly salary of P12,000, which she said is already “quite high” in Cebu, where the minimum daily wage ranges from P376 to P404.

Alburo said she is eagerly awaiting the outcome of the meeting with the Metro Wear representative as she has already spent all her savings to put food on the table.

Alternatives

As her case is under mediation, Alburo is not yet officially retrenched and has no income because Metro Wear has barred her from working in its Cebu factory.

“I was not given SAP [Social Amelioration Program by the Department of Social Welfare and Development] because they said I am a worker of a large company,” she said.

Her status also prevented her from getting unemployment benefits from the Social Security System (SSS), where she is a member.

Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique R. Tutay said workers like Alburo can qualify for the government’s livelihood assistance or temporary employment program from the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) regional office.

She said DOLE-Region 7’s intervention for the mass retrenchment in MEPZ was notable since it was a “whole government approach,” which involved close coordination with the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) of the local government units (LGUs) in Cebu and the Regional Development Council.

Under the scheme, the retrenched workers will be profiled so they could be referred to companies with vacancies. They will also be offered skills training as well as livelihood opportunities.

Ednee said she was particularly interested in participating in the livelihood program so she could go into hog raising, which will provide for the basic needs of her family until she finds a new job.

Recovery plan

DOLE said the partnership of its regional office in Cebu as well as LGUs will be its model in the implementation of measures for workers who are temporarily or permanently displaced because of Covid-19.

During the Senate budget hearing on October 1, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III reiterated that their intervention for the estimated 4.6 million Covid-affected workers next year will focus on increasing the beneficiaries for their emergency employment, livelihood and youth-employment programs.

In DOLE’s proposed P27.53-billion budget, P9.93 billion will be allocated for Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Worker (TUPAD) and Government Internship Program (GIP). DOLE will coordinate with local officials under the two programs.

TUPAD provides temporary emergency jobs for its beneficiaries, while the GIP provides temporary employment for students in the public sector.

Another program which will get a funding boost next year is the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (P809.5 million) and Special Program for Employment Students (P605.74 million).

The four programs all got significant boost in funding allocation, which range from P58 million to P3.15 billion, as part of the government’s efforts to address mass displacement during the Covid-19 crisis.

‘Missed opportunities’

During the hearing, several senators expressed concerns over the supposed gaps in the DOLE’s measures to address the impact of Covid-19 on the labor sector.

Sen. Imee Marcos questioned the DOLE’s allocation of a large portion of its 2021 budget for providing short-term relief to affected workers through TUPAD and GIP, instead of spending it on providing long-term employment opportunities.

She also said she sees the lack of focus on digital-related businesses, which are now in demand due to the pandemic. She said DOLE can provide additional employment options for displaced workers through these businesses.

Bello said the DOLE’s 2021 budget proposal included P40 billion in cash subsidy to companies to ensure that they will not retrench any of their workers during the pandemic. He urged the Senate to restore this, as it was removed by the Department of Budget and Management.

As for Marcos’s proposal on maximizing the booming digital economy, Tutay said the DOLE is looking at the possibility of including this in TUPAD, which is currently limited to temporary jobs, such as cleaning or repairing government infrastructure or public areas.

DOLE targets

Sen. Joel Villanueva also asked the DOLE why it lowered its target number of beneficiaries to be referred for placement to PESO next year to 1.5 million, from 1.6 million this year.

Villanueva criticized the DOLE’s target beneficiaries for its labor market information (LMI) in 2021, which remained at 2.2 million.

The lawmaker noted DOLE should increase the beneficiaries of its PESO referral and LMI programs next year to accommodate the growing number of displaced workers.

Tutay said the DOLE is currently in the process of updating its LMI to reflect the changing trends caused by Covid-19. Based on their initial findings, she said the jobs, which will remain in demand during the pandemic, are those in information technology, agribusiness, construction and medicine.

She said the DOLE is targeting to come up with the updated LMI once it completes stakeholder consultations in December to provide the needed guidance to educational institutions as well as students and their parents during the pandemic.

Sharing pain

Former dean of University of the Philippines-School of Labor and Industrial Relations (UP-SOLAIR) Rene E. Ofreneo said the DOLE should continue facilitating consultations between workers and businesses during the Covid-19 crisis.

Ofreneo said the pandemic is expected to cause a lot of disagreements between management and labor as many businesses struggle to cope with its effects.

“The problem is sharing of gains is easy based on the joint commitment to productivity and survival program. But the sharing of pains, for example, reduction of worker benefits and reduction of returns on investment in order to ensure survival and sustainability, which is quite hard,” Ofreneo said.

“Labor and management should discuss business sustainability for a win-win solution and DOLE should be forward-looking facilitating these dialogues,” he added.

5-year plan

To enable Filipino workers to survive the Covid-19 pandemic, labor coalition Nagkaisa is urging the government to craft a five-year recovery plan.

In its initial position paper, a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror, the coalition proposed the creation of the Unemployment Subsidy and Work Assistance Guarantee (USWAG), a massive public employment program.

It noted the program should include “clear annual targets” aligned with the Philippine National Physical Framework Plan 2016-2045, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

“USWAG requires the development of several programs to ensure that the government can address the different situations of all those who are unemployed. Some of these programs, though, would require tweaking to cope with the demands of the current crisis,” Nagkaisa Chairman and FFW President Sonny Matula said.

Nagkaisa member and Sentro secretary general Joshua Mata said the coalition proposed income guarantees, equivalent to the prevailing minimum wage or P10,000 per month as well as wage subsidies equivalent to 75 percent of the prevailing minimum wage to retain jobs in micro, medium and small enterprises.

The coalition pushed for employment guarantees for those who are unemployed, ranging from 100 days to nine months, and trainings for strategic employment facilitation, with a stipend of not less than 50 percent of minimum wages.

Nagkaisa also proposed the expansion of the public sector to take on social tasks, such as upgrading the public health system, developing renewable energy and carrying out mitigation and adaptation measures to climate change.

The coalition said it will submit the proposed program to DOLE once it finalizes its recommendations.