DOLE EYES HUGE SUBSIDY TO KEEP WORKERS
THE government may subsidize as much as half of the salary of workers of firms hit by the impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns under the proposed job-saving measures of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
In an online press briefing, Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III finally announced the rate of their proposed wage subsidy.
The component of their post-covid recovery plan, he noted, does not only aim for companies to retain jobs, but also to hire additional workers.
“We are recommending the cash subsidy of 25 to 50 percent to employers provided that they retain their employees and add [an] additional 2030 percent of their workforce,” Bello said.
The plan has been submitted by DOLE to the Office of the President for approval.
On Sunday, the DOLE issued a statement backing the two pending stimulus bills in Congress, which will grant it funding for its post-covid plan.
This includes the P1.3trillion Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy (ARISE) bill and the P1.5-trillion Covid-19 Unemployment Reduction Economic Stimulus (CURES) Act of 2020.
The immediate passage of such legislation will be crucial in reducing the number of the expected 3 million to 5 million workers expected to be displaced by the Covid-19 crisis.
The DOLE said it started receiving reports of some companies planning to retrench their workers after the over two-month community quarantine implemented by the government to contain the spread of Covid-19.