DOLE looking to grant 3-month wage subsidy for workers

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Labor and Employment is planning to provide a three-month wage subsidy for workers.

In a virtual press conference Friday, Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay said the wage subsidy is meant to help cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We based the budget proposal on the average wage of the workers in different sectors,” said Tutay. “It is between PHP7,000 to PHP11,000 subsidy and it will run for three months.”

She added that DOLE would need at least P62 billion, and P180 billion at most, from the Department of Budget and Management to fund the project with 25 percent of the workers’ wage set to be subsidized.

“So if it will run for three months and let us say we will shoulder 25 percent of the average wage, PHP62 billion the lowest we will request,” said Tutay.

“The highest budget will be at PHP188 billion that would cover 75 percent of the monthly average wage rate. Our proposal is subsidizing 25 percent, 50 percent, or subsidizing 75 percent of the average wage rate.”

DOLE’s project, Tutay said, is meant to not only help employees with their daily spending but also help establishments recover during the pandemic with some businesses  forced to close down shop due to the pandemic.

Apart from the wage subsidy, DOLE is also looking to provide more than two million jobs for 2021.

“Based on the Philippine Development Plan, and we adapted this in the National Employment Recovery Strategy, it’s about 2.4 to 2.8 million employment for 2021,” said Tutay. “But this is a very difficult target since we’re in a pandemic stage.”