Govt sets 3-mo period to review employment recovery strategies

THE government has set the review period on the implementation of its National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) for workers who were affected by the pandemic.

Last Friday, President Duterte finally signed Executive Order (EO) 140 adopting NERS and creating the task force to monitor its implementation.

The EO has been pending in the Office of the President (OP) since it was first announced in February.

Under the issuance, the NERS Task Force will be required to submit an evaluation on the effectiveness of its programs within three months from the effectivity of the order, and every three months thereafter.

EO 140 will take effect immediately after it is published in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

“There is a need to revitalize the economy and create a national employment campaign that will promote and implement job-generating programs of various government agencies under the new normal,” Duterte said.

The NERS task force will be chaired by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and cochaired by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).

DOLE also serves as the secretariat of the task force.

Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique R. Tutay said they already got some initial feedback from the government agencies that are part of the task force.

“Happy to note that it’s moving, though some agencies modified some of their enrolled Programs [under NERS],” Tutay told the Businessmirror in a Viber message.