94 Tadem Institute measures to support the workers and small businesses Like the farmers, workers and small businesses have been severely impacted by the pandemic. The government, as well as employers, must adopt and implement a set of economic and social measures for the working class. Consequently, the government should also rescue micro, small and medium enterprises in order to promote economic recovery. The government may take the following steps: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) Preserve regular jobs by prohibiting all contractualization schemes; Prohibit wage cuts and ensure workers’ full benefits for retrenchments; To mitigate workers’ risks, provide for hazard pay equivalent to double (or triple) their regular wages; Reduce working hours and number of working days per week and at the same wage levels; Continue compliance with labor standards and occupational and safety protocols; Provide safe and reliable transportation for workers; Distribute free face masks and other PPEs; Encourage participation at all decision-making levels at the workplace; Provide wage amelioration and cash assistance for self-employed, freelancers, domestic seafarers, and others who lost employment; Provide cash assistance for overseas contract workers; Guarantee income even when unemployed; Provide unemployment insurance; Create “green jobs” and accelerate the retooling and retraining of workers; Give a one-time grant of up to Php 500,000 and provide soft loans to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), provided they retain their workforce; and Prioritize and support key economic sectors vital to the anti-COVID campaign and focusing on local markets, such as food production, garments, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and construction in vital infrastructure activities. Final notes There is much more that can be done to address the health crisis other than what is being undertaken now. But it will take a major rethinking of fundamental principles of governance and paradigm resetting for the responses to improve. What is essential is for all sectors of society to work together—government, the academe, health experts, local communities, private sector, civil society organizations, peoples’ organizations, sectoral groups, and all other concerned parties—in order to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. This is known as the “whole-of-society” approach.