A lawmaker urged the retailing sector to continue hiring part-time workers to man and reopen stores and groceries for longer operating hours in this time of COVID-19 crisis.
“We would urge our leading supermarket and minimart chains–since they are the only ones thriving for now–to stay open for longer hours and start hiring on a temporary or part-time basis furloughed employees from other industries,” said House Deputy Speaker and Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel.
“This way, retailers can also help ease the economic pain of the crisis as they grapple with the surge in households stocking up on food and other basic necessities,” he added.
The call was directed to SM Retail Inc., Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., Cosco Capital Inc., Philippine Seven Corp. and other big retailers.
SM Retail owns SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket and the Savemore chains, while Robinsons Retail runs Robinsons Supermarket, The Marketplace, Rustan’s Supermarket, Shopwise, Ministop, Southstar Drug and The Generics Pharmacy chains.
