A SPECIAL DAY FOR WORKERS — Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III (center), DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez (right) and TESDA Secretary Isidro Lapeña (left) grace the ceremony as the labor department celebrates the 119th Labor Day on May 1, 2021 at DOLE Central Office in Intramuros, Manila. To mark this special day for workers, DOLE launched the symbolic vaccination for OFWs and local workers, the Trabaho Negosyo Kabuhayan (TNK) Job and Business Fair, hiring of NCR contact tracers and the Task Group on Economic Recovery (TGER) – National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) Job Summit. Photo by Dodong Echavez, IPS — Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III (center), DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez (right) and TESDA Secretary Isidro Lapeña (left) grace the ceremony as the labor department celebrates the 119th Labor Day on May 1, 2021 at DOLE Central Office in Intramuros, Manila. To mark this special day for workers, DOLE launched the symbolic vaccination for OFWs and local workers, the Trabaho Negosyo Kabuhayan (TNK) Job and Business Fair, hiring of NCR contact tracers and the Task Group on Economic Recovery (TGER) – National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) Job Summit. Photo by Dodong Echavez, IPS
DOLE inks interagency pact to hire more contact tracers
THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) forged an agreement with Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for the hiring of contact tracers through its Tulong Panghanapbuhay para sa ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) aims to employ close to 6,000 contact tracers that will be tasked to help stop the spread of Covid 19 infections in the country.
“The government believes contact tracing is one of the key measures to arrest the mounting number of Covid 19 infections in the country,” Bello said.
He said a total amount of P280,714,644 chargeable to the 2021 General Appropriations Act funds of DOLE budget shall be used to employ 5,754 workers to be engaged as contact tracers.
Under the agreement, DOLE shall engage the workers as contact tracers under the TUPAD program in partnership with DILG and MMDA to augment the current number of contact tracers in the country.
On the other hand, the DILG will facilitate the creation of a selection committee for hiring of contact tracers under the TUPAD Program.
Meanwhile, the MMDA will be tasked to assist in the dissemination of information on the hiring of TUPAD contact tracers, monitor the implementation of the project, and help in the proper dissemination of information of the project.
Earlier, DOLE decided to shift its TUPAD program to contact tracing to help local governments handle the rise in Covid 19 cases.
TUPAD is DOLE’s safety net program to help cushion the impact of the COVID pandemic to the workers in the informal sector, particularly the unpaid family workers and self-employed with elementary occupations.
