A forum that gathered more than 120 employers from Western Visayas kicked off the three-day celebration of the Labor Day celebration in Iloilo City yesterday.

Amy Judicpa, Information Officer at the Department of Labor and Employment VI (DOLE-6), said the forum, in partnership with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), is focusing on various issues, particularly contractualization.

DOLE-6 targets to regularize 15,000 workers by end of this year. As of first quarter of 2018, some 4,612 workers were provided security of tenure in the region.

The bulk of regularized workers came from a mining company on Semirara Island in Antique, while the rest were from hotels, resorts, restaurants and those engaged in wholesale and retail businesses in Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Capiz, according to a DOLE report.

Meanwhile, a livelihood forum and fair was conceptualized for those who are yet to access the support to livelihood of the DOLE.

DOLE-6 will make available more than 10,000 jobs for the Labor Day job fair.

More than 8,000 of the vacancies are for overseas placements and the rest are local jobs.

The bulk of the local placement is offered by business process outsourcing (BPO) firms.

The May 1 activity will take off with a “Walk-for-a-Cause,” the proceeds of which will be used to purchase school supplies of identified child laborers in child labor-free barangays in Western Visayas.

The “walk against child labor” will be simultaneously held in Iloilo and Negros Occidental.

In Iloilo City, the walk will start at 6 a.m. at the Jaro Cathedral towards the Mary Mart Mall, also the venue of the job fair.

Participants will have to shell out a P100 registration fee for those joining in Iloilo, and P50 in Negros Occidental.

In addition, there will also be career coaching and entrepreneurship forum, skills demonstration, livelihood fair and workers forum. (PNA)