By Leslie Ann Aquino
Companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are required to submit a report to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III
(ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said this is pursuant to Labor Advisory No. 17, Series of 2020, or the Guidelines on Employment Preservation upon the Resumption of Business Operation.
In Labor Advisory No. 17-A-2020, the DOLE said employers should use the RKS Form 5 of 2020 for the said purpose.
"This Form shall be accomplished by establishments for: a) Flexible Work Arrangement Alternative Work Scheme; b) Temporary Closure; c) Retrenchment/ Reduction of Workforce, and d) Permanent Closure," read the advisory dated June 11.
"The said report shall be submitted personally or online to the appropriate DOLE Provincial/Field Office which has jurisdiction over the workplace, effective 16 June 2020," it further read.
In the RKS Form, employers are asked to provide general information on the company, as well as the summary and enumeration of affected workers.
According to the latest Job Displacement Monitoring Report of the DOLE, a total of 69,022 workers were displaced nationwide from 2,068 establishments from January 2020 to present as reported by their regional offices.
Based on the DOLE report, 91 percent of the establishments reduced workforce (1,875), while 9 percent reported permanent closure (193).
The 193 firms that reported permanent closure displaced a total of 5,119 workers while the 1,875 companies that retrenched workers affected 63,903 employees.