By Senior Citizen Party-list Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes
I call upon corporations and medium-sized enterprises to work in tandem with local governments on the hiring of fit-to-work seniors to help reduce poverty and hunger, especially in cities and towns with high population density and high poverty incidence.
The seniors hiring model program of the City of Manila can serve as a benchmark for the country’s other 147 cities to follow.
If each of the 148 cities of the country can produce 1,000 jobs for seniors in a year, that is already 148,000 jobs created, even if only for temporary six-month periods.
If each of the 1,486 municipalities creates at least 50 jobs for seniors, that is another 74,300 new jobs.
For seniors with special skills and a wealth of experience, short-term employment contracts or consultancies can help keep them active, provide for some of their daily needs, and improve their self-esteem.
Many seniors in their 60s still want to and can work. It is a matter of matching them with the right companies with solid corporate social responsibility programs.