DOLE: PH’s inclusion in worst countries for workers 'unreasonable'

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma over the weekend denounced the inclusion of the Philippines in the International Trade Union Confederation's (ITUC's) list of the top 10 worst countries for workers, arguing that this was unreasonable and did not reflect the actual situation in the country.

Responding to the 2024 Global Rights Index of the ITUC, Laguesma said on Super Radyo dzBB, “Nakalulungkot at hindi katanggap tanggap ‘yun pong nabanggit na ipinagkaloob na  rating ng ITUC sa ating bansa, dahil wala pong… Siguro kayo na rin mismo ang makakapagsabi ay hindi naman po siguro ganyan ang aktwal na  kalagayan sa ating bansa.

(The rating the ITUC  gave the country is disheartening and unacceptable because there is no… Maybe you can say that this is not the actual situation in our country.)

“Alam mo, kung titignan mo ‘yung kanilang explanation ng kanilang rating, eh hindi po tayo talaga dapat. Hindi po makatwiran na  tayo’y bibigyan ng rating na 5.”

(You know, if you look at the explanation for their rating, it should not be. It is unreasonable for us to be given a rating of 5.)

The ITUC gave  the Philippines a score of 5 in the latest index, indicating that  “while the legislation may spell out certain rights, workers have  effectively no access to these rights and are therefore exposed to  autocratic regimes and unfair labor practices.”

The ITUC also cited the red-tagging and murders of Filipino labor unionists, including BPO Industry Employee Network organizer Alex Dolorasa and  Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) organizer Jude Thaddeus Fernandez, noting that the  murder of two prominent trade unionists created a “climate of fear and  persecution,” and silenced “the collective voice of workers.”

Laguesma on Sunday also questioned the reported lack of access to rights due to the lack of action being taken on cases.

“Totoo po na mayroong mga kaso at hindi naman po natin ‘yan ipinagwawalang  bahala. Pero sa pananaw po namin, ito naman ay mga isolated cases na  meron pong hakbangin kaagad na isinasagawa ang atin pong pamahalaan,” he said.

(There are indeed cases and we are not ignoring them. But in our view, these are isolated cases and the government took action on these.)

“Kung tayo po talaga ay nariyan sa mga bansa na medyo, ika nga’y talaga namang sa tingin ko hindi tayo karapat dapat mapabilang doon eh, eh bakit po na-elect bilang miyembro ng governing body nitong  kakatapos na International Labor Conference,” he added.

(If we are really among those countries, which in my opinion we are not supposed to be, why were we elected as a member of  the governing body of the recent International Labor Conference?)

Moving forward, Laguesma said the cases were not a sufficient reason for the inclusion of the Philippines in the list of the worst countries and that the ITUC should validate responses that it receives from the survey it conducts with its member associations. — DVM, GMA Integrated News