Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III today released a statement on the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) official web page which criticized a study that tagged the Philippines as one of the 10 worst countries for workers.
Bello is referring to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index 2019, which was released in June but was reported by the local media just this week. The study gave the Philippines a rating of 5, which means Filipino workers are not assured of their rights. The study reported that 10 union members were killed in the country in 2018.
It also called out Philippine-based companies Sumifru and Nutri Asia for violating workers’ rights.
In July last year, food company Nutri Asia was the subject of controversy for allegedly violently dispersing workers on strike who were demanding to be regularized after years of being contractual employees.
Many local companies employ seasonal or contractual workers, most of whom have lower wages and practically zero benefits compared to permanent employees. President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order prohibiting illegal contracting in workplaces, but labor groups said that they do not think that it will eradicate “contractualization,” reported The Philippine Star.
Sumifru, an affiliate of Japanese firm Sumitomo Corp., meanwhile, has allegedly refused to regularize its workers and even fired those who joined a labor strike in April, reported ABS-CBN News.
The ITUC report also mentioned the case of the nine sugarcane workers at Hacienda Nene in Negros Occidental who were shot dead by unidentified men in October.
From Bello’s point of view, the Philippine government has been doing its best in protecting Filipino workers and their families.
“It is unfortunate that ITUC failed to see the consistent efforts of the government in protecting the welfare of Filipino workers. To say that the country has drastically regressed in protecting the worker’s rights is a drastically one-sided finding,” said Bello.
Bello said that the government has been working towards providing safe and humane workplaces for laborers and providing them with security of tenure. He added that his department is hiring 500 additional Labor Laws Compliance Officers who could help ensure that businesses are complying with labor laws.
“DOLE is not sleeping on its job and responsibility to protect the workers, in the same way that we are mandated to encourage businesses to investing (sic) more. We remain committed in (sic) providing essence to our mandate despite these unwarranted accusations that undermine the genuine efforts of the administration,” Bello said.
Other countries which the study tagged as the worst places to work in were Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Zimbabwe.
