Will a national minimum wage work better?
A plan to set a national minimum wage, an idea President Rodrigo Duterte has brought up, will need to be studied further, a labor department official said. Congress would also have to repeal the law that set in place the regional wage-setting system.
While most people went for a quick dip at the beach or a hike up the mountains over the long weekend, 20-year-old Jason Puno left his home in Ginatilan yesterday for Cebu City right before the sun rose.
Clutching a plastic envelope close to his chest, the fresh graduate made his way to the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) where a long line of jobseekers waited patiently for the gates to open.
“I’m nervous because this is my first time. Some of the people here look older than me so they may have more experience. But I just tell myself that I can do this,” Puno told SunStar Cebu in Cebuano.
The seventh child in a brood of eight, he has taken responsibility for their youngest after their parents passed away and all their elder siblings got married.
To increase his chances of getting hired, Puno submitted his applications and requirements to three different companies.
“I am quite intimidated but happy that there are job fairs for breadwinners like me. It’s difficult to go job hunting these days,” he said.
The sentiment was shared by Lilibeth Lupoy, who called the job fair a “blessing.”
Expanding horizons
The 38-year-old Elementary Education graduate was hoping she could work as a cashier for a shopping mall while waiting for her ranking results from the Department of Education.
“I hope I get hired so that I can help my taxi driver-husband with our family expenses,” Lupoy said.
She lamented that she needed to land a job soon, especially with their six-year-old son entering elementary school next month.
At the Provincial Capitol, Jeanne Chell Mabalod said she left her one-year-old child in her mother’s care, so she could join her friend in their quest for “greener pastures.”
Having worked for a food distributor for the past 11 years without a salary increase, the 34-yearold decided it was time for her to expand her horizons.
“I would really like to work as a domestic helper abroad. I will miss my family, but my laborer-husband and I must sacrifice for our child’s future,” she said in Cebuano.
Providing better living conditions for his family is also what made Genesis Alarcon, 26, attend the job fair yesterday.
Although the job he was looking for was not offered at the Capitol, the native of Carcar City still continued seeking employment opportunities that required technical skills.
Win-win situation
“I’m currently waiting for a reply from the employer I’ve applied for months ago. There’s none here that offers jobs to people like me who are domestic seamen, so in the meantime I’ll settle for anything,” he said.
Job fairs, though, are not only helpful to jobseekers as these have created a win-win situation for both applicants and employers.
Perfect Star PC Shoppe human resource officer Doreen Lagahig said that a job fair not only provides applicants with employ- ment opportunities, but it also helps companies reach out to seekers directly without needing to advertise.
“We are also given the chance to assess the applicants on site. Although we can’t directly assess their commitment, a job fair helps us find progress,” she said.
It was the third time the company joined the job fair at the CCSC. Since participating, Lagahig said they have hired at least two applicants who are still with the company.
More than 10,000 local and overseas jobs were opened to jobseekers in four major job fairs in Cebu during the Labor Day celebration yesterday.
Of the number, 2,500 job vacancies were offered at the Capitol alone.
Aside from the CCSC and the Capitol, job fairs were also held at the Hoopsdome in Lapu-Lapu City and at the SM City Cebu.
Some of the people here look older than me so they may have more experience. But I just tell myself that I can do this. JASON PUNO 20-year-old Jobseeker