Villar urges DOLE to provide safety nets for government workers

Former Speaker Manny Villar has taken the cudgels for the more than 1.4 million government workers.

Yesterday, Villar urged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to study possible safety nets to ensure that there will be no mass lay-offs of government employees, especially with plans to privatize government owned and controlled corporations.

"The Labor Department must take action to ensure that jobs will not be lost," Villar stressed.

He points out that mass lay-offs of government workers will be "contrary to the thrusts" of the new administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to generate employment opportunities for Filipinos.
Likewise, he points out that government’s cutting back on expenditures must not be done at the expense of granting yearly pay increases to government workers.

"If cutbacks must be done it could be on non-essentials such as travel and other luxuries that line agencies can do without but not the salaries of our workers," he said.

The Las Piñas solon, who is running for Senator on a platform of providing mass housing to the poor and job generation says that livelihood programs and projects must be stepped up by the labor department to generate employment, especially in the countryside.

"We need to ensure the jobs security of government workers while creating more opportunities for the jobless and do everything to prevent mass lay-offs," said Villar.