Over 2,000 workers to start temporary jobs offered by DOLE on Friday

More than 2,000 informal sector workers who have temporarily lost their livelihood due to the Luzon quarantine will start working under the government's emergency employment program on Friday.

They represent the first batch of workers who qualified for the Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE) Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Displaced/Underprivileged Workers (TUPAD), DOLE-National Capital Region Director Sarah Buena Mirasol said Thursday.

"As regards the TUPAD, we will start tomorrow, start ng implementation. We will also distribute 'yung kanilang cleaning solutions saka PPEs (personal protective equipment)," the official said at a press briefing.

TUPAD will initially be implemented in Pandacan, Sta. Cruz, and Sta. Mesa in Manila; Barangay North Fairview and Nagkakaisang Nayon in Quezon City and various barangay in Navotas, she said.

Workers under the TUPAD program are tasked to disinfect their homes and their immediate vicinity. Aside from cleaning materials and protective equipment, they will also get brochures on safety and health practices, officials said.

The workers will get paid the minimum wage in the region for a day's work. They will get paid through money remittance service providers  at the end of their 10-day working period.

According to the DOLE's TUPAD guidelines, underemployed, self-employed, and displaced marginalized workers who have lost their livelihood due to the enforcement of an enhanced community quarantine over Luzon are qualified beneficiaries.

Local government units are in charge of submitting the application letter and other requirements, including the profiles of beneficiaries, to the concerned DOLE regional director.

The DOLE said TUPAD will be offered to 16,000 informal sector workers.

The department has also set up a P1.3-billion financial assistance program for 250,000 workers in private establishments that have adopted flexible work arrangements or temporarily closed due to measures against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Affected workers, regardless of employment status, will get a one-time assistance of P5,000. Their employers are to submit the requirements to the DOLE, the department said. — Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/BM, GMA News