AlkanSSSya' program to benefit informal sector
By Amorganda A. Saludar
CEBU CITY, Sept 17 (PIA) -- The Social Security System (SSS) extended their services to cover the informal sector such as public drivers of jeepneys, trisikads (tricycle), and habal-habal (motorcycle) as well as market vendors in their micro-savings program dubbed "AlkanSSSya."
Workers in the informal sector are encouraged to register in the program and be active SSS members so they could enjoy the benefits provided by the SSS.
AlkanSSSya is a micro-savings program that offers convenient remittance of contributions and guarantees members access to affordable social protection.
At present, the program already catered to 34 participating organizations representing 18,600 workers in the National Capital Region and Luzon.
SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio de Quiros clarified that the responding organizations are comprised of tricycle drivers and operators association as these are the target sectors of the program along with transport operators, workers in the direct selling industry and market vendors.
The AlkanSSSya program of the SSS requires a 1.5 tall metal safety boxes with secure mini-compartments placed in accessible locations where savings of the members are stored. By the end of the month, this will be accounted and picked up by an SSS collecting personnel.
One AlkanSSSya unit is assigned to every member who can drop any amount they are capable of daily until they can completely acquire the required monthly contribution.
Members are mandated to save at least P312 every month for them to be able to meet the salary credit of P3,000 monthly.
“We specifically designed the AlkanSSSya program to fit their way of life and to make saving for monthly SSS premium as affordable as only as P10 a day,” de Quiros said.
“Providing social security protection to those in the informal sector is important to SSS. We have designated lanes in SSS branches for AlkanSSSya participants and coordinate with their officers to address their concerns regarding SSS coverage and benefits,” he concluded. (FCR/AYS-PIA7 Cebu with SSS PR)
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UNIDO to hold 2-day industrial user training in CebuLocal experts to participate in ISO-capacity building program
By Amorganda A. Saludar
CEBU CITY, Sept 17 (PIA) -- The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido) will train local experts in the industrial sector coming from the Visayas and Mindanao in a two-day Industrial User Training starting today, September 17 and 18 here in Cebu City.
The training is geared toward making them aware and recognize the value of management systems and standards as an important policy and method to step up energy efficiency improvement in local industrial firms.
To achieve an Energy Management System (EnmS)/ ISO50001 Programme, UNIDO saw the big need and demand for technical assistance from its member-states prompting the organization to develop appropriate training programs for better understanding as well as to acquire technical capacity of stakeholders that would determine the success of the EnMS implementation among local industries.
Participants of the training are those responsible in instituting energy management measures in their respective industries.
The training is expected to direct participants through the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle base on ISO 50001 energy management standard, with the instructions and tools containing guidelines on how to establish an effective energy policy, review energy use, identify what is significant and venue for improvement, sets objectives and targets, establish an energy baseline and performance indicators.
The purpose of the discussion among local experts here in Cebu is to screen and select local experts in industries for future Experts Training and provide them with the needed skills and capability required to enhance and implement energy management systems with its guidelines based on ISO 500001.
Another purpose of the training is to provide local experts with necessary expertise on energy management system so they in turn can provide technical assistance to industrial firms and coaching facility personnel for developing and implementing energy management systems in line with ISO 500001.
The discussion will also urge local experts to participate and attend the EnMS National Experts Training Modules 1, 2 and 3 scheduled at the fourth quarter of this year. (FCR/AYS-PIA7, Cebu with Unido PR)