MANILA (UCAN): Labour unions in the Philippines have urged the president, Rodrigo Duterte, to ramp up the government’s Covid-19 vaccination rate in order to help revive the economy and get millions of jobless people back to work.
As of last month, 3.3 million people were out of work, according to the latest government figures released on February 9.
The Department of Labour and Employment said the high number was a result of the pandemic’s economic fallout.
“Over three million Filipinos [have been] rendered jobless due to the continuing scourge of the coronavirus which has resulted in thousands of medium and large-scale companies to cease operations or declare bankruptcy,” labour secretary, Silvestre Bello III, told reporters on February 10.
The Nagkaisa Labour Coalition, however, said the government should not lay sole blame on the pandemic but the government’s response to it as well.
It said a slow vaccination rate was keeping the level of daily infections high thereby preventing many employers from resuming normal operations.
According to a health department report this week only 54 per cent of the total Philippine population of more than 100 million has been fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, 3,651 new cases were recorded on February 9.
Many casual workers or those with short-term contracts are losing out by being forced into quarantine for 14 days if found to be infected, the group added.
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Allowing firms to bar un-vaccinated workers was also adding to the high unemployment figures it said.
“We … urge the Duterte administration to address unemployment by first giving jabs to all working-age people, particularly booster jabs,” the coalition’s chairperson Sonny Matula said.
Matula said the swift distribution of vaccines was key to protecting both the labour force and jobs.
The group also called for free Covid test kits so as not to place a further economic burden on workers.
“The cost of PCR or antigen tests should be shouldered by the government, not workers,” Matula said.
Father Jerry Gaspar of the Diocese of Legaspi said the ability of workers to earn for their families was dependent on vaccines.
“If they catch the virus, they incur 14 working days without pay. So that means they will not have an income. Companies can close as well because there are no customers. So, vaccines and employment are clearly linked,” Father Gaspar said.
