DOLE 6 ready for the blows of Global Crisis
In response to the possible impact of global financial crisis (GFC), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 6 has stepped up efforts aimed at providing immediate interventions to the affected workers, local or overseas.
Labor Director Aida M. Estabillo called for today’s meeting with the heads of Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in the region to discuss the Department’s framework of assistance to workers affected by the global slowdown in order to emphasize their respective roles in providing immediate interventions to displaced workers.
Estabillo said that business is not usual in the department because of the urgency of the situation and urged all concerned agencies to give the affected workers the necessary interventions as fast as they can.
Based on the framework, the Labor department shall conduct profiling of the displaced workers and assessment of interventions to be extended such as facilitation of job placement through Public Employment Service Offices (PESOs) for local employment and through POEA for overseas, provide training for skills upgrading/retooling through TESDA and livelihood assistance through the DOLE for local displaced workers and OWWA for OFWs.
DOLE has enrolled 3 livelihood programs under its Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Programs (CLEEP) such as the Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD), Integrated Services for Livelihood Advancement of Fisherfolks (ISLA), and Financial Assistance & Micro-Finance for Expatriates (FAME), which will benefit not just the displaced workers but also the long-term unemployed, out-of-school-youth and fisher folks.
TUPAD shall be implemented in partnership with the local government units (LGUs), Philippine National Police (PNP), TESDA and PhilHealth, while ISLA shall be undertaken in partnership with LGUs and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). FAME, on the other hand, shall be implemented by the OWWA.
Estabillo disclosed that for the first quarter of 2009, her Office has already earmarked Php8.578-million for the initial implementation of TUPAD and ISLA in all provinces in Western Visayas.
OWWA 6 head, James Mendiola, disclosed that OWWA’s Help Desk located at its office in General Luna Street, Iloilo City, is now operational. In fact, he said, it has already provided assistance to some 16 displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWS) from the region who sought OWWA’s assistance.
He added that OWWA 6 has a 24-hour hotline #09178963111 where they can call or text.
TESDA 6 will install an on-line program at OWWA’s Help Desk to immediately capture the profile of workers who wish to avail of its training program.
Long before the news on global financial crisis broke-out, DOLE has an adjustment measures program in place which provides assistance to workers displaced due to economic slowdown or calamities. This time, however, DOLE intensified its monitoring of establishments which intend to close down or retrench workers and the provision of immediate assistance to affected workers.
“We do not wait for affected establishments to notify us of their plan to shutdown or retrench workers. We directed all our staff to be vigilant and monitor what’s going on in their areas so we can immediately respond to the situation,” Estabillo said.