The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said that they will open the recruitment and acceptance of job applications for contact tracers starting April 17, 2021.
Successful applicants will be placed under the “Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers” (TUPAD) program. They will be deployed around Metro Manila amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases and to strengthen the government’s contact tracing system.
According to Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns director Ma. Karina Perida-Trayvilla, the DOLE will send “blast” notices of hiring and a series of announcements, including the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and local government units (LGUs) for the recruitment of contact tracers.
The recruitment of contact tracers will be up to April 22, 2021.
Among those who will be accepted as contact tracers are the unemployed and workers from the “displaced informal sector” due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only 5,000 successful applicants will be accepted by the DOLE from the initial target of 14,000, mainly because of budget issues, says Trayvilla.
However, Trayvilla assured that the contact tracers that will be hired will receive wages according to what was agreed upon, including accident insurance.
Around P232 million will be allocated as budget for the contact tracers, each with a salary rate of P537 for every four hours of work.
For the COVID-19 testing and other requirements, these may be under the expense of the LGU where the contact tracers will be deployed.