COVID-19 News
4-day, flexi work plans helpful to contain virus impact: Nograles
MANILA – A four-day workweek for government workers and flexible work arrangements are among the options being considered by the government to help prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as well as prevent job losses as the private sector attempts to cope with the impact of the outbreak on businesses. This according to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who in an interview on Tuesday said, that “as far as the Civil Service is concerned, they are discussing the adoption of a fourday workweek as one of the measures that the Civil Service can do in terms of government workers.”
concerned, “the Department of Labor and Employment just recently issued a labor advisory that regulates flexi-work arrangements.”
The point of the advisory, Nograles explained is “to discourage businesses from laying off and retrenching workers and adopting a flexi-work arrangement Classes in the National Capital instead.” Region have been suspended from March 10 to 14 as part of efforts to This, he said, particularly applies prevent the transmission of Covid-19 to the tourism industry, which has been in Metro Manila after the number of hit hard by the outbreak. The former confirmed cases in the country reached legislator from Davao stressed that 24 Monday evening. the government is urging the private sector to avoid layoff of workers given Nograles, a member of the Inter- the temporary nature of the Covid-19 Agency Task Force for the Management outbreak. of Emerging Infectious Disease, said the suspension of classes in NCR “At one point we will be able to could be extended or lifted based on control this. So what’s happening now developments this week. in the tourism and travel industry would be considered temporary; because it’s He added that as far as temporary we don’t need to retrench employees in the private sector are or fire workers.” (PR)
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Caraga Infocus
March 7-13, 2020
