President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Saturday expressed confidence that Filipino workers would serve as “important catalysts” for the revival of the Philippine economy amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Duterte made the remarks as he lauded the holding of the job summit on Labor Day despite the threat posed by Covid-19.
“I also hope that this event will inspire stronger cooperation among stakeholders so that we may provide our labor force of all opportunities for their improved welfare and development,” he said in his video message during this year’s job summit.
In observance of Labor Day, the trade and labor departments, along with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, conducted the Task Group on Economic Recovery – National Employment Recovery Strategy Job Summit.
The job summit serves as a venue for high-level consultation and discussion with employer groups, the labor sector, government representatives, and other key stakeholders to address the challenges on employment amid the pandemic.
The President expressed hope that the summit would inspire the workforce to strive harder in a bid to reboot the country’s economy.
“May this summit be instrumental in making our workers as important catalysts for the revival of our economy,” he said.
Promoting full employment
In his welcome remarks, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the government’s goal is to provide full protection to labor and promote full employment for all Filipino workers.
Nograles issued the statement as he acknowledged the labor force’s significant contributions to the country’s improving economy despite the challenges faced amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
“As we continue to battle against Covid-19, our strongest weapon is teamwork and cooperation. As long as we continue to help each other and cooperate with our government, we will be able to get back up again and regain more on what we have lost,” he said during this year’s virtual job summit.
Nograles said the National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) 2021-2022 would accelerate the implementation of labor programs aimed at mitigating the impact of Covid-19 and rebooting the Philippine economy.
“Kung wala ang labor sector (Without the labor sector), our economy will not be able to rebound and recover as fast. The country’s workforce is the backbone of our economy,” he said.
The NERS 2021-2022 is a medium-term plan that aims to help create a policy environment that encourages the generation of more employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.
Nograles assured that the government is exhausting all efforts to bring back jobs in the labor market.
“Hindi kailanman tumitigil ang inyong gobyerno sa paghahanap ng solusyon at paglapat ng tugon. Aming ginagawa ang lahat ng kailangan upang ang bawat isa ay makabangon (The government has never stopped looking for a solution. We are doing everything to help everyone recover),” he said. (PNA)
