ILOILO CITY — The Department of Labor and Employment 6 (Western Visayas) will give emergency employment to workers in Boracay island who will be affected by the closure.
DOLE-6 Regional Director Johnson Cañete on Friday said that the approved emergency employment is good for 30 days. However, their office have again submitted another proposal to their central office for a 90-day emergency employment for workers, he said.
“Hopefully it will be approved so that we can extend for another two months. That is if we have a budget to cover the same,” he said.
Displaced workers will work for 30 days in the island depending on the program that will be submitted by villages and their area of assignment. The workers will receive minimum wage.
“It is like a clearing operations that they will be doing in Boracay,” he said.
In case some workers will not avail of the emergency employment, they could enroll in short courses available at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), said Cañete.
“They can avail of whatever courses in order to capacitate themselves rather than being idle for the next six months,” he said.
Cañete said that they have scheduled a special job fair for displaced workers the same day that the island will be closed on April 26 to lessen the impact of the displacement.
“This is to give them other opportunities to find work in other area or in another establishments,” he said.
Data from the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) of Malay, Aklan showed that 17, 735 workers are expected to be displaced by the closure.
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also extended its readiness to assist displaced workers, especially informal workers that will be affected by the closure.
DSWD-6 Regional Director Rebecca Geamala said that informal workers could avail any of their regular programs like the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).
As of now, Geamala said that they are still coordinating with the local government unit of Malay for the list of affected informal workers in the island.
These informal workers include masseurs, and pedicab drivers, among others. (PNA)
