Job task force in the Philippines attracts participation interest

In a statement, both groups said the government’s National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) task force should involve them for better results. 

The statement said, “The engagement of the task force with the genuine representatives of employers and workers groups will bring a more coordinated and cohesive collaboration among the public and private sectors in the recovery strategy of the economy.”

The government should substantially involve employers and workers groups by ensuring their genuine representation in the various technical working groups of the task force, it added. 

The statement was released by the Leaders Forum – comprising the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Federation of Free Workers, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, Philippine Exporters Confederation, and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines. 

The NERS task force was set up in June by President Rodrigo Duterte to work on the government’s plan to restore employment until 2022. 

The groups said a tripartite collaboration will help formulate more effective policy reforms. “The Leaders Forum appreciates that a whole-of-government approach is necessary to curb the ill effects of the pandemic and ultimately address the employment crisis with speed and urgency,” they said. 

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In June, private-sector groups had said they planned to organise job caravan events, identify vacancies and make recommendations to the NERS task force, while the task force planned to provide profiles for job vacancy referrals and promote alternative work arrangements. 

The Labour Department said in late June that NERS is “expected to generate at least 220,000 jobs and assist over 1.4 million Filipinos struggling with unemployment and income losses”, according to BusinessWorld.