Gov't urged to set up one-stop shops to help displaced workers amid pandemic

Surigao Del Sur Representative Johnny Pimentel is urging the government to set up one-stop shops where Filipinos who lost their jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic can easily claim their separation insurance and seek reemployment facilitation.

Pimentel made the remark as he warned of more job losses due to the impact of the global health crisis to the economy.

“Government must provide physical locations plus a customized website where displaced workers can get all the help that they need from multiple agencies under one roof in just one stop,” Pimentel said in a statement over the weekend.

“It pains us to see dismissed workers transacting tediously with multiple agencies to avail of assistance,” he added.

Pimentel said more job losses may be seen in the coming months, particularly in the banking and tourism industries.

“The bigger banks in particular might start reducing their headcount this year, once they get a better estimation of their bad loans,” he said.

Pimentel pointed out that the suspension of loan repayments mandated by Congress last year made it difficult for banks to determine their non-performing assets.

“There’s no question the post-pandemic banking landscape will involve fewer brick-and-mortar branches, with more Filipinos performing transactions online,” he said.

The Bank of the Philippine Islands and wholly-owned subsidiary BPI Family Savings Bank, for instance, have already decided to merge to streamline operations, he added.

On the other hand, more large hotels might also follow the temporary closure of Makati Shangri-La starting February 1 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Pimentel said.

“The bigger hotels and resorts with more financial resources deferred labor retrenchments throughout 2020. They might start cutting those jobs now,” he said.

To help workers who may lose their jobs during this time, Pimentel called on the Social Security System (SSS), Public Employment Service Office (PESO), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and local government units (LGUs) to work together in putting up the one-stop shops.

The SSS is tasked to provide unemployment insurance to all covered members who are involuntarily separated from their jobs due to retrenchment or downsizing, closure or cessation of operation or redundancy.

PESO, meanwhile, is an employment agency run by the Department of Labor and Employment and LGUs that provides job referral and placement services free of charge.

TESDA, on the other hand, provides upskilling services to assist displaced workers in finding new jobs or self-employment opportunities.

Amid the rising prices of basic commodities and calls of labor groups to increase wages, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the government is focusing now on reducing the unemployment rate in the country.

"Sa pagpapataas ng sweldo ng mga manggagawa, right now dahil sa kinakaharap nating pandemya, kailangan natin balansehin muna. Kailangan muna natin ma-stabilize ang ating economy," he told Dobol B sa News TV on Sunday.

"I think ang pinakaimportanteng focus dapat natin ngayon ay pataasin pa ang employment rate," he added.

Nograles said that as of October 2020, the unemployment rate in the country is at 8.7%, higher than the 4.6% recorded in October 2019.

"So ito yung dapat natin ma-focus, yung unemployment rate, na mas marami sa mga kababayan natin ang makakapaghanap at makakapagtrabaho," he said. —Erwin Colcol/KBK, GMA News