The government plans to hire 12,000 contact tracers through the Department of Labor and Employment’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emergency employment program for those in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus bubble.
The hiring will be done through the DOLE’s Employment Assistance to Disadvantaged or Displaced Workers (TUPAD pogram), which has been given P18 billion in funding in the 2021 Budget.
Contact tracers will work for 30 days or a month.
They work only four hours a day, and their minimum wage is wage.
“Ang DILG po, ang kanilang pasahod is P18,000 plus, which is salary Grade 9 sa government. Yung amin naman po sa TUPAD ay P537 per day times 30 days. Medyo malapit na po, P16,110 ang ibibigay ng DOLE,” said DOLE – Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns Karina Perida-Trayvilla.
The contact tracer must also be a college graduate. But according to the DOLE, those who have reached the 2nd year of college are also attending.
Although, DOLE is studying to also take the previously contracted contact tracers of the government.
12,000 contact tracers to be hired under DOLE’s TUPAD program
“‘Yung mga hindi na po na-rehire last year, baka mayroon pa po doon na pool of workers na pwedeng balikan at hindi na tayo maghihirap na mag-train,” said Perida-Trayvilla.
If continued, DOLE will provide personal protective equipment and micro-insurance of contact tracers.
But they demanded that local governments pay for the transportation and communication allowance.
“Ang PPE, pwede namin i-factor in, plus micro insurance… But as to communication expenses, sana po ay maging counterpart po ito ng ating mga Local Government Units. Baka kailangan po kasi ng gadget or kailangan ng supply,” said Perida-Trayvilla.
According to Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Benhur Abalos, Metro Manila mayors have appealed to increase the number of contact tracers to be hired and make it 15,000 for 3 months.
The DOLE is still studying whether the funding can afford it.
The unemployment rate of 8.8 percent in February 2021 is higher than that in January 2021 and October 2020, both with 8.7 percent. The estimate was the third highest since April 2020. The highest unemployment was registered at 17.6 percent in April 2020.