Displaced Metro workers to be hired as contract tracers–dole

LO cal government units( lgu) in Metro Manila will finally start hiring this week displaced informal sector workers to become contact tracers through the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

In an online press briefing on Wednesday, Bureau of Workers With Special Concerns (BWSC) Director Karen ma. tray villa said the hiring will run from April 17 to April 22, 2021.

Notices will be uploaded at the web sites and social-media accounts of “DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government], DOLE [Department of Labor and Employment], MMDA [Metropolitan Manila Development Authority] this coming Saturday,” Trayvilla said.

To qualify for the positions, applicants must be at least high-school graduates, belong to the informal sector of the economy, and have skills related to contact tracing.

They must also submit a medical clearance from their local health office and barangay clearance.

Those interested to apply, Trayvilla

said, may do so through the nearest Public Employment Service Offices (PESO).

After the five-day selection process, she said they are targeting to start the deployment of the newly hired contact tracers by April 26, 2021.

Initially, DOLE announced around 5,000 contact tracers will be hired for 30 days using the over P200-million funding from its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/displaced Workers (Tupad).

Tupad is a temporary employment program of DOLE for displaced workers.

The contact tracers were supposed to be deployed in the National Capital Region (NCR), Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite.

However, Trayvilla said they were forced to downscale its target beneficiaries to 5,000 and its area coverage to just Metro Manila since LGUS wanted to extend their employment duration to 90 days.

The labor official, however, said LGUS outside of NCR could still request to hire contact tracers using Tupad funds through DOLE’S regional offices.