BAGUIO legislators pitched support for the passage of House Bill (HB) 7593, or the Unemployment Benefits Act of 2020, in a bid to help displaced workers.
The resolution of support authored by Councilor Arthur Allad-iw was approved during the regular session.
The Makabayan bloc filed HB 7590 or the Unemployment Benefits Act of 2020 before the House of Representatives. The bill aims to provide immediate aid to all displaced workers, both in the public and private sectors, with the minimum financial assistance pegged at P10,000 to be sourced out from available government funds.
The bill will include in its scope all workers who have been involuntarily separated from their occupations. They include workers in the private sector, government employees, and workers in the informal economy such as street vendors, jeepney drivers, agricultural and fisheries workers, and the like.
The bill seeks to claim a compensation equaling to the average amount of the worker's compensation in the last 36 months. For those who have worked for less than 36 months, the average pay will be computed based on the months they have been employed.
For formal workers, the Social Security System and the Government Services Insurance System will be mobilized to provide the cash payment to private workers and public employees, respectively. For informal workers, the Department of Labor and Employment will directly provide the payment.
The cash aid will be handed for a maximum of two months or until the worker finds a gainful livelihood, whichever comes first.
Once passed into law, Congress will allot P200 billion as operational funds for the cash aid.