DOLE to hire more contact tracers 

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) allocated P204 million for the hiring of informal sector workers as contact tracers in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus area,according to a report by Philippine News Agency.

Lawyer Ma. Karina Trayvilla, director of the DOLE's Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC), said the budget is now ready as ordered by Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

“The Secretary has already allocated funds. In the NCR, more than half of PHP204 million requirement is ready,” she said in a virtual forum.

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She added that contact tracers are only allowed to work for four hours a day under Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program.

“They will be working four hours per day only. This is to reduce mobility. Hopefully, next week, we will start the hiring process,” she said.

Asked on how much the workers will be getting, Trayvilla said it would depend on the minimum wage of the area where the employees will be employed.

“In the NCR, the minimum wage is PHP537 per day, multiply it by 30 days, it will be PHP16,110,” she added.

Trayvilla said contact tracers who will be hired are residents of the areas where they will be deployed.