Almost 3,000 workers lose jobs to pandemic

Rene Cortes of Lapaz, Iloilo City ventured into the eatery business after losing his job in a restaurant during the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using his personal savings, he hopes to weather the crisis until he lands another job.

“Kabudlay kay sang una may stable job ako kag sweldo. Subong, de bwenas makaganansya ko P500. Kabay pa nga malumpawasan ko ini,” Cortes said.

Cortes is among the almost 3,000 workers in Western Visayas who were forced out of work due to the closure and retrenchment of business establishments as the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic continues to hurt the labor force in the region.

Based on the data from the Department of Labor and Employment Region 6 (DOLE-6), a total of 359 establishments in the region closed or reduced their work force, affecting about 2,922 employees.

“As of August 17, 2020, we have a total of 359 establishments nga apektado sang pandemic. These are establishments that reported to us nga sila either nagpermanently close or nagreduce sila sang ila mga workers,” DOLE-6 information officer Niezel Sabrido said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

Sabrido said the establishments resorted to reducing their workforce or permanently closed down due to the losses incurred in the previous months amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since Western Visayas is highly tourism driven, majority of the affected establishments are those from the accommodation and food services industry, according to Sabrido.

“Majority of the establishments that closed halin sa sector sang accommodation and food catering industry because of the fact that the region is highly tourism driven. Damo man nga mga establishments halin sa manufacturing, services sector, information and communication pati wholesale and trade na naapektuhan gid because of the pandemic,” she added.

The bulk of the affected establishments were located in the city and the province of Iloilo, followed by Negros Occidental, and Aklan.

Sabrido said restrictions imposed by the authorities to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 like the temporary stoppage of flights and travel of tourists have taken a toll on majority of industries in the region which are dependent on tourism.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that unemployment rate in Western Visayas spiked to 13.7 percent in April 2020 compared to 4.8% last year and 5.6% in January this year.

This translates to about 417,319 jobless persons compared to the 146,018 recorded in April last year.

Meanwhile, Sabrido said they are preparing for programs to be implemented by the agency to target the displaced workers in the region.

Currently, they are waiting for the passage of the Bayanihan 2 law for additional funds. (ERS)