JOB fairs that have become a traditional mainstay of the annual celebration of Labor Day in the country have been canceled due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique Rubia-Tutay said the COVID-19 pandemic has made it impossible to hold the traditional Labor Day activity.
“We cannot hold job fairs during the extended ECQ so we won’t be having job fairs on May 1,” Tutay said.
Instead, she said, the agency is planning a “simple” Labor Day celebration.
“It would be a very simple event for now, now that the situation is not yet normal,” she said.
In last year’s Labor Day celebration, participating employers made available more than 204,000 local and overseas jobs and drew a total of 35,242 job applicants.
Of the job applicants, 4,314 were immediately hired while 21,593 were considered hired but still needed to submit additional requirements or may need to undergo further interviews, trade tests, or exams.
Tutay said the earliest the labor department could conduct job fairs is when the country, particularly the economy, begins to normalize.
“We will activate our employment facilitation program when businesses start to recover,” said Tutay.
For the moment, she said, the department is focused on providing assistance to displaced workers.
President Duterte announced last Friday the extension of the ECQ in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and other “high risk areas” until May 15 while the general community quarantine will be in effect in “moderate risk areas.”