DoLE gives P4-B livelihood packages, employment assistance to workers
Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma. Photo from DoLE
THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has provided more than P4 billion worth of livelihood packages and employment assistance to marginalized and vulnerable workers nationwide.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said Tuesday that more than 700,000 workers in the informal sector have benefited from the nationwide payout of the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad) program and the DoLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP).
Under the Tupad program workers in the informal sector are provided a 10-day emergency employment, but not exceeding 30 days, depending on the work to be performed, and would be paid the minimum wage prevailing in their respective areas.
DILP is a flagship program of the DoLE that provides vulnerable and marginalized workers access to resources, such as working capital in the form of raw materials, equipment and tools that could help them start, enhance, or restore their livelihood.
Laguesma said that Tupad and DILP are part of the labor department’s commitment to protect workers and extend the government’s helping hand to marginalized and vulnerable sectors of society.
Early this month, Laguesma said that DoLE distributed Tupad payout amounting to P3.363 billion to 673,519 beneficiaries.
Among the beneficiaries were 200 decommissioned combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front from different municipalities in Basilan. They were employed for 30 days and each received wages amounting to P10,080. They were also provided with personal protective equipment and microinsurance during temporary employment.
Tupad is part of the initiative to strengthen intergovernmental labor relations between the DoLE and the Ministry of Labor and Employment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Another P699 million worth of livelihood packages under the DILP were likewise awarded to 35,311 vulnerable and marginalized workers nationwide.
Through the program, beneficiaries who want to start, enhance, or restore their livelihood are provided with working capital in the form of raw materials, equipment, tools, and common service facilities.
They are also provided with personal protective equipment, microinsurance, seminars on basic occupational safety and health and emergency first aid, and training on productivity and entrepreneurship to ensure the sustainability of their livelihood undertakings.