Labor groups back probe into foreign workers, stress protection of their rights

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, the country's biggest labor group, is raising the alarm on an alleged influx of more Chinese workers into the country's critical infrastructure and across several industries, saying this "[brings] more serious implications to local employment and to national security."

This, while labor groups welcome a possible Senate probe into the growing number of undocumented foreign workers in construction and in Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators as well as in other industries.

Although Senate leaders have indicated support for a potential probe, no resolution — which would direct Senate committees to schedule hearings — have been filed yet.

"The Chinese workers are present or are coming in to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines," TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said. He added that Chinese workers will be coming in through "tied-aid" projects like the Kaliwa Dam and railways projects.

"The Chinese are in strategic sectors — power, water, communications, transport, and construction where they not only take away jobs from Filipinos, but also embed themselves into our economy. There are not only negative employment implications but also national security implications," Tanjusay warned.

TUCP said that the foreign workers are going into strategic industries that are of public interest and have national security implications. 

Tanjusay said that with unemployment at 10%, "this surrender of jobs to Chinese is just going to make worse the plight of Filipino workers who can do the job that Chinese are being given in our own country."

A Social Weathers Stations survey report released earlier this week suggests that adult joblessness was at 39.5%, about 23.7 million adult Filipinos. The figure is lower than 27.3 million estimated in a similar SWS survey in July 2020.

The Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) also welcomed the Senate probe but stressed the call is not out of discrimination against undocumented Chinese workers.

"We would certainly welcome that (the probe) to ascertain the truth and determine how best the country can protect migrant workers here — documented or undocumented. But such probes must look at all nationalities and not just Chinese. We can't be a party to a racist initiative," Josua Mata, secretary general of Sentro, said.

"I think our immediate response must come from the perspective of protecting the rights and welfare of foreign nationals working in our country — documented or undocumented. We need to make sure they are given the standards provided by the Labor Code. We need to show the world that we are doing exactly what we demand for our own OFWs abroad — providing them equal protection," Mata added.

Gerard Seno, national executive vice president of the Associated Labor Unions said, "facing exploitation and abuse, these hidden undocumented workers often work in inhumane conditions and zero legal protection."

He added that they welcome the Senate probe on all 'foreign' workers as a way for the nation to once and for all make these invisible workers visible and extend to them the full protection of Philippine labor laws. - Artemio Dumlao (Philstar.com) 

TUCP urges for massive job generation in the President's legacy projects to ease the COVID-19 triggered unemployment and poverty

On the President's 5th SONA

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) urges for massive job generation to be included in the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 27, 2020, to ease the COVID-19 triggered unemployment and poverty citing the President’s legacy projects, particularly in the P35.91 billion 102-km Mindanao Railway Project (MRP), Tagum-Davao-Digos segment as having great potential for employment and development.

“The Mindanao Railway Project of the President, although a single-track diesel-run railway, has great potential to generate the much-needed jobs. It will benefit not just the workers in Tagum-Davao-Digos areas but from as far as BARMM, Regions X, XII and CARAGA if agri-industrial hubs will be developed and connected to the planned eight (8) stations which are in Tagum; Carmen; Panabo; Mundiang; Davao Terminal; Toril; Sta Cruz; and Digos,” TUCP Partylist and TUCP President Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza pointed out.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) had earlier reported that the MRP’s Tagum-Davao-Digos segment’s design and construction will start in third quarter of this year and are expected to be completed by end of 2021.

“We do not need to reinvent the wheel or embark on new grand plans to create jobs, we just have to ensure that the ‘Build, Build, Build’ and the legacy projects of the President would be for the development and industrialization in the countryside to spur employment, and not just mere rail tracks, widened and asphalted roads,” Mendoza explained. “The President’s SONA should direct the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), DOLE, DOTr and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to ensure job creation,” he suggested.

The TUCP earlier projected 5 million to 10 million unemployed workers due to the pandemic, and 3 to 4 million in floating status under a “no work, no pay” arrangement, while the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported a 17.7 percent unemployment rate which accounts for 7.3 million unemployed in the workforce in the second quarter of 2020, nearly a four-time increase from the 5.1 percent unemployment rate in the same quarter of 2019.

The PSA also reported double-digit unemployment rates in all regions, the highest was in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) at 29.8 percent. The rest of the regions in Mindanao island: Region IX registered an unemployment rate of 23.9 percent, Region X at 11.1 percent, Region XI at 17.9 percent, Region XII at 21.2 percent and CARAGA at 12.3 percent.

The SWS survey conducted in May 2020 noted that eighty-three percent of Filipinos believe that their quality of life has worsened in the last 12 months. The survey has 294 respondents from Metro Manila, 1,645 from Balance Luzon, 792 from Visayas, and 1,279 from Mindanao. While a separate SWS survey in the same period showed that 16.7 percent or an estimated 4.2 million Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger at least once for the past three months.

"We reiterate our call to the Government on the urgency to respond to the magnitude of the displacement of workers. Indeed, some companies are operating but it will get worse before it will get better. Companies are operating in half capacities to finish the pre-pandemic job orders and there are no new orders coming in as the economies of our markets abroad are in recession. Closures will come in the fourth quarter of the year with no assurance of rebound in 2021. There is no assurance of foreign remittance as our OFWs are coming home and those who stayed overseas have no jobs while our seafarers have become quarantine costly and unable to board the ships on time due to bottlenecks in the green lanes. It should not be ‘business-as-usual’ mode, we need to have a massive job creation program or a Philippine Agri-Industrial Development Program to stimulate the economy, and not rely on labor export or foreign investments,” TUCP Vice President Luis Corral said.

He also pointed out that this is President Duterte’s golden opportunity to “BUILD BACK BETTER” using the country’s “AAA-minus credit rating” to fund a multi-trillion-peso economic stimulus package so that the credit rating is felt by the Filipino people.

- TUCP Labor Center

Stringent rules hamper OFW repatriation efforts

Stringent and at times discriminatory regulations imposed by local government units in treating returning constituents have provided a major setback in the national government’s efforts to repatriate stranded and displaced overseas Filipino workers.

This complaint aired by officials of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration prompted the House Committee on Overseas Filipinos to call local executives to a virtual meeting that would attempt to resolve the issue.

OWWA officials disclosed that a number of LGUs have barred returning constituents despite the fact that they have tested negative for COVID-19.

National government agencies such as OWWA have claimed helplessness in reasoning out with LGU executives as the latter insist that they they have the authority to protect their localities from COVID-19 threat and are protected by the local autonomy provisions of the law.

Many LGUs are reportedly overcautious in granting clearances for the return of OFWs who are actually their constituents.

TUCP party-list Rep. Democrito Mendoza, chairman of the House Committee on Overseas Filipino Welfare, advised officials to seek President Duterte’s intercession on behalf of returning OFWs.

“We have to get around that problem. If the President can just speak to the political leadership of local government units, I think this will be resolved,” said Mendoza, who presided over a virtual meeting on the repatriation operations for the thousands of displaced and stranded OFWs.

In the meantime, Mendoza said the committee will attempt to resolve the controversy by inviting LGU executives to a virtual meeting.

Invitations will be sent to the heads of Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines and the League of Provinces of the Philippines. Presidents of League of Cities of the Philippines and League of Municipalities of the Philippines may also be asked to participate in the meeting.

Both the Department of Foreign Affairs and OWWA gave positive reports about the bid to repatriate OFWs from various parts of the world, especially those from the Middle East.

DFA Underscretary Sarah Lou Arriola said the processing of the return of 50,000 OFWs is expected this month.

On the other hand, Director Alice Visperas of the International Labor Affairs Bureau revealed that the total number of displaced Filipinos abroad has reached 341,701.

At least 70,533 have been repatriated while 21,107 are ready to go home.

There are at least 169,000 OFWs who are displaced temporarily or permanently who have not yet signified any intention to go home.

Of the number of OFWs abroad, at least 5,353 have tested positive for COVID-19, said Visperas. - by Ben Rosario

TUCP sees 12 million job losses

Neda warns of 15% jobless rate in recession-hit economy

File photo / AFP

The country’s largest labor group said job losses could hit 12 million before the year ends as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said unemployment is likely to hit a 15-year high as the economy slides into recession.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said Thursday the biggest job losses come from accommodation and food services, where more than a third of workers have lost employment, followed by arts and recreation services, where 27 percent of staff have found themselves out of work.

With no end in sight for the coronavirus health crisis, calls for social distancing are taking a bite out of service sector jobs that depend on customer interactions or involve the congregation of large numbers of people.

“Workers in industries such as restaurants, hotels, school care services, retail trade, and transportation services are at a higher risk of losing their jobs,” the TUCP said.

The TUCP said other sectors hard hit by job losses were “other services” (15 percent), real estate services (12 percent), administration and support (11 percent) and agriculture, forestry and fisheries (10 percent).

The labor group said at least 50 percent workers in retail trade and food services and drinking places were displaced by the COVID 19 crisis and could see even more job losses due to public health restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

These two industries alone employ nearly 3 million Filipinos, the TUCP said.

Citing Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data, the group expressed alarm over the sharp rise in the unemployment rate, which jumped to 17.7 percent in the June quarter of 2020 from 5.1 percent in the same quarter a year earlier.

Strict stay-at-home rules forced most business operations to shut down. Those who can work from home were allowed to, but casual workers were forced into “no work, no pay” schemes since mid-March.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg TV, acting NEDA director-general and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said the country is already in recession, as recent data showed that the economy contracted by 0.2 percent in the first quarter, a reversal of the 5.7 percent growth a year ago and 6.4 percent a quarter ago due to COVID-19.

Economists predict the second-quarter numbers could be even more grim as the lockdowns were extended several times to encompass the period from April to June.

A recession is characterized by two straight quarters of economic contraction.

If that happens, a double-digit jobless rate will be the highest in 15 years since it hit 8.4 percent in April 2005.

Based on the April 2020 Labor Force Survey released by the Philippine Statistics Authority on June 5, the unemployment rate rose to a record 17.7 percent accounting to 7.3 million unemployed Filipinos. This was significantly higher than the 5.1 percent unemployment rate in April 2019.

PSA said the record-high unemployment rate “reflected the effects of the COVID-19 economic shutdown on the Philippine labor market.”

The employment rate in April 2020 fell to 82.3 percent from 94.9 percent in April 2019. It was also lower than the 94.7 percent in January 2020. This translates to 33.8 million employed persons in April 2020, sharply down from 41.8 million in April 2019.

The average number of hours worked per week also fell to 35 in April 2020 from 41.8 hours per week in April 2019.

All regions reported double-digit unemployment rates. The highest unemployment rate was in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARRM) at 29.8 percent.

It was followed by Region III (Central Luzon) and Cordillera Administrative Region with unemployment rates recorded at 27.3 percent and 25.3 percent, respectively.

The International Labor Organization (ILO), meanwhile, said policies need to be put in place to protect stranded migrant workers and to ensure the reintegration of those who return to their home countries.

Tens of millions of migrant workers, forced to return home because of the COVID-19 pandemic after losing their jobs, face unemployment and poverty in their home countries, the ILO said.

As containment measures ease, millions of migrant workers may be required to return home to low and middle income countries where labor markets, which were fragile before the COVID-19 outbreak, are now further weakened by the additional strain of high levels of unemployment and serious business disruptions due to the pandemic. In addition, their families will suffer financially from the loss of the remittances normally sent to them.

Meanwhile, other migrant workers have found themselves stranded in host countries without access to social protection and little money for food or accommodation. Even those with jobs may be taking reduced wages and living in cramped worksite residences where social distancing is impossible, putting them at greater risk of contracting the virus.

Almost all of the world’s workers, some 94 percent, were living in countries with some type of workplace closure measures in place in May 2020, according to the UN Secretary-General’s Policy Brief on the World of Work and COVID-19 .

Massive losses in working hours, equivalent to 305 million full-time jobs, are predicted for the second quarter of 2020, while 38 percent of the workforce – some 1.25 billion workers – is employed in high-risk sectors.

The brief says small and medium-sized enterprises – the engine of the global economy – are suffering immensely and many may not recover. Those living in developing countries and fragile contexts face the most dramatic risks, in part because they have least resilience.

The policy brief, based on data and analysis from the ILO, warns that many of those people who have lost their jobs and livelihoods in recent months will not be able to re-enter labor markets any time soon.

Women have been particularly hard hit. They are disproportionately represented in high-risk sectors and are often amongst the first to lose employment and the last to return. Persons with disabilities, already facing exclusion in employment, are also more likely to experience greater difficulties returning to work during recovery. - by Vito Barcelo and Julito G. Rada