DoLE extends labor assistance to athletes
THE DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has signed a memorandum with the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) to provide labor and employment assistance to professional and retired athletes.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU), inked on Dec. 6, provides livelihood opportunities, and emergency employment programs to professional athletes who were retired, injured, or undergoing mandatory rest periods.
Inclusive employment facilitation programs, including Public Employment Services, the National Skills Registration Program, and timely Labor Market Information dissemination, will be extended to athletes and other beneficiaries associated with GAB.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma said the MoU enhances the department’s partnership with GAB, reinforcing efforts to safeguard and secure the well-being of workers in the sports industry. “This signed partnership will serve as a means to address the needs of not only GAB stakeholders but also those of DoLE,” he said in a statement in Filipino.
GAB Chairperson Richard S. Clarin affirmed the collaboration with the labor department, expressing a commitment to “foster employment opportunities within the sports and amusement sector while prioritizing the safety and well-being of all employed professional athletes.”
Under the Office of the President, the GAB is tasked with the regulation and supervision of professional sports and related activities.
Both government bodies have committed to investigating and resolving labor-related reports, organizing lectures and seminars on employee rights and benefits during sports gatherings, and supporting applications for assistance from athletes and stakeholders.
