DOLE supports bill creating an unemployment insurance program for displaced workers

At a House hearing Wednesday, Labor Undersecretary Ana C. Dione said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) supports the unnumbered substitute bill that will establish a National Unemployment Insurance Program and noted that requirements for workers to qualify for unemployment insurance should be less stringent, particularly for retrenched persons.

“We support the bill but we have a suggestion on eligibility to reduce the requirements but retrenched persons need to be able to avail of the benefits more easily,” said Dione.

The current bill requires workers to undergo job counseling provided by the program or its accredited partners in order to be eligible for unemployment benefits.

“I agree 100% maybe it is onerous what the employee has undergone. Applicants might instead provide proof that they have started job counseling or produce a certificate stating that they are willing to undergo counseling,” said Marikina City Rep. and bill author Stella Luz A. Quimbo.

The House Subcommittee on Employment approved the substitute bill on Wednesday, subject to style and amendments. It will next face the subcommittee’s mother panel, the House Committee on Labor and Employment.

The proposed unemployment insurance program aims to provide lost income protection for workers who were involuntarily separated from their employment. The bill will also propose to create the Philippine Job Insurance Corp., which will oversee the viability and implementation of the program.

SOURCE: Business World