House Minority Leader Benny Abante Jr. on Labor Day urged the government to step up programs to prevent mass layoffs as a result of the economic impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.
According to Abante: “Labor Day reminds us of the critical role of workers in our country; our economy is built on the backs of labor, and we should do everything in our power to ensure that their livelihoods are not threatened by this Covid-19 pandemic.”
Small businesses that avail of the program are not allowed to lay off their employees.
The lawmaker from Manila pointed out that an Asian Development Bank study estimates that the outbreak could result in the country losing between 87,000 to 252,000 jobs as a result of the outbreak.
“While the 6.435 billion pesos has been released to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for its assistance program for workers affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), these are only one-time, stopgap measures that must be supplemented by government initiatives that will encourage the private sector to continue to employ their workers despite the present crisis,” stressed the solon.
Abante said that the government’s Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) program, which will provide around 3.4 million workers in the formal sector with salary subsidies amounting to a combined P51 billion for two months, is a good first step.
Under the SBWS, small businesses that avail of the program are not allowed to lay off their employees. The employees, in turn, will be given a per-month subsidy by the government amounting to five to eight thousand pesos for two months.
“However, we must plan ahead and find ways to give a lifeline to Philippine businesses so that our workers remain employed,” said the legislator.
“In this regard, I and the other members of the Minority are open to working with the Department of Finance to come up with measures like tax breaks that will allow businesses to address the financial challenges of the Covid-19 outbreak––so long as these measures secure guarantees that workers will be retained.”