Retrenched workers urged to avail of services of PESO

The Department of Labor and Employment Cordillera urged workers displaced due to the Covid-19 pandemic to avail of the services of the Public Employment and Services Office (PESO).
DOLE-CAR Director Exequiel Guzman said there are already 5,136 workers who have been affected by the temporary and permanent closure of establishments in the region.
He said five establishments have declared permanent closure affecting 29 workers while 59 business firms have reported partial cessation or slowdown of operation affecting 5,107 workers.
The slowdown led to the retrenchment of some of the workers on the basis of redundancy. Most of the establishments are based in Baguio City.
“We have job matching and job fairs through the PESO,” he said.
Guzman said business process outsourcing companies, which are continuously hiring, can be an employment option.
To avoid removal of employees, Guzman said DOLE has been in talks with business firms that have submitted their intent to close or partially cease operation to consider flexible work arrangements for their employees.
He cited Texas Instruments Philippines Inc. at the Baguio Economic Zone in Loakan, which started implementing a flexible work arrangement to avoid removing employees.
Moog Controls, also a locator at the BCEZ, recently laid off 524 employees for redundancy.
Moog is a manufacturer of airplane parts which is among the country’s export products. Retrenched employees comprise one-third of the total workforce of the firm.
Guzman said the company slowed down after airline companies worldwide ceased operation due to border controls imposed in many countries.
“Their volume of production slowed down and they had to separate workers to save the company and the investment they have already put in place. Instead of closing, they opted for separation of some workers,” he said.
He said Moog has partnered with Sitel, a BPO company also at the economic zone, for the launch of a job fair.
Guzman expressed confidence that with establishments gradually opening, those that slowed down will resume to normal operation.
Data from the Cordillera Task Force for the Covid-19 Special Committee on North Luzon Growth Quadrangle shows that the region has an estimated loss of P18.6 billion with the productive sector recording the highest losses at P11.28B. – PNA