THE following are the labor agenda proposed by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines to the incoming administration.
The next administration must create four million jobs in 2022 to 2023 by recalibrating the Build, Build, Build Program from urban roads and airports to building agro-industrial hubs connected through a massive inter-island railway network that could ease commute and movement of goods and services; and bring decent employment, sustainable livelihood and lasting development to the regions and provinces.
Next, the Ports of Manila and contiguous areas in the City of Manila be developed as “Seafarers Crew Change Hub” that will help in creating more jobs while defending the country’s standing as the top provider of seafarers for the past 50 years.
The next government should push for paid 15-day isolation and quarantine leave and free testing for all workers; increase pay, special risk allowance, meal, and transportation allowance to all health care workers; and the provision of financial aid, wage subsidy, and seed capital through CAMP, SBWS TUPAD, and DILP. It should push for the lowering the cost of electricity to make the economy ASEAN-competitive.
To address endo and contractualization, a genuine “Security of Tenure Law” must be passed to ensure that the norm in labor relations is to have regular workers rather than contractual or ENDO workers; the “Public Service Labor Relations Law” as implementing the law of International Labor Convention 151, recognizing the right of public sector workers to organize, collectively bargain, and engage in peaceful collective action must be ensured at all times; so is the “Equivalency Bill” for public sector’s contractual workers to be regularized without the need of passing the Civil Service Exam; the “Magna Carta of Seafarers” to protect the rights of our seafarers both in the global maritime and cruise industry, and the local manning and cargo industry; and the “Magna Carta for Workers in the Informal Economy” to help millions of informal workers transition to and become part of the formal economy.
The next government should also ensure that the International Labor Convention 188 for workers in the fishing industry to protect workers in one of the most hazardous, unregulated, and exploitative industries is observed at all times; and for the country to fully comply with our commitments in EU-GSP+ and US-GSP for tariff-free access of our export products.
