WITH less than two years left under President Rodrigo Duterte, an official of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Friday, December 4, 2020, expressed belief that the employment situation would not improve under the current administration.

"Probably, even beyond this administration, we may struggle to get back to the pre-Covid-19 situation," Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay said in a virtual press briefing.

She said this is because they do not expect all members of the workforce to already come out and resume their normal work routines.

"Without the vaccine, our people will not be confident to get out and work, to participate actively in the labor market," she said.

Similarly, the labor official said companies that were forced to temporarily close during the lockdown may not be able to resume full operations immediately.

"Because of their losses, some may not know how to recover and resume operations," said Tutay.

In a bid to help companies recover, she said they will be pushing for the wage subsidy program for micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Under the proposed program, DOLE will shoulder 25 to 50 percent of the salaries of employees of qualified companies for three to six months.

"We want to preserve employment in companies of employees that were temporarily displaced. They need a little push, a little assistance so that they can recover," said Tutay. (HDT / SunStar Philippines)