Labor groups urge DOLE to help affected workers

Cebu labor leaders gathered the other day to discuss the inevitable scarcity of jobs as digitization of several labor sectors takes place, wherein many are expected to get affected.

Cebu Labor Coalition spokesperson Metudio Belarmino said that with the digitization of work, the government, especially the Department of Labor and Employment, must do something to cushion its impact especially on the future generation.

"Kaning digitization, dili na man gyud ni kapugngan, and we want to be assured by the government unsa ang ilang buhaton to cushion the impact," said Belarmino.

He added that with the onset of digitization, many workers, like in the banking and power sectors, will lose their jobs.

"Tellers and cashiers, dako ang posibilidad nga daghan ani nila mawagtangan og trabaho kay adto na man lang mobayad ang mga customers sa mga machines," said Belarmino.

Alliance of Progressive Labor President Jose Tomongha said that many more sectors will still get affected by the digitization.

Earlier, Nicholou Malazarte, national president of UnionBank Employees Association, said that with the digitization of the banking processes, the desirable and necessary positions will soon no longer be needed.

Malazarte said that positions such as tellers, credit investigators/appraisers, accounting staff and others will be gone once the digitization will go full swing within two to three years.

He said that banking digitization is now in the initiatory stage and several employees already lost their jobs.

He said that the banking industry is going into digitization in order to cut cost.