YEARENDER: DOLE marks many firsts in 2012

MANILA, Philippines - The year 2012 marked so many firsts and set new records for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz had, in fact, declared 2012 as a banner year for DOLE, noting that for the first time, the department and its attached agency the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) have started implementing the two-tiered wage policy.

Ciriaco Lagunzad III, NWPC executive director, said almost all of the country’s 17 regions have already issued wage orders adopting a two-tiered wage system that would provide “high and rising” standard of living for workers nationwide.

At present, Lagunzad said, 85 percent of commercial establishments in Region IV have already adopted the gain-sharing policy in compliance with the newly adopted two-tiered wage system.

He said with the new wage system, workers are expected to gain and earn more from the increasing productivity. He said laborers are given the opportunity to negotiate and their good performance gets rewarded.

First in transport industry

Baldoz said DOLE marked a first in the history of bus transport industry by requiring bus companies to provide drivers and conductors fixed wages, and secure labor standards compliance certificates (LSCCs).

With the LSCC, Baldoz said, the DOLE hopes to address the alarming number of road accidents and traffic violations while at the same time bringing the bus drivers and conductors into the mainstream of formal workers who receive better pay and enjoy good working condition.

As of November, Baldoz said, 129 bus companies with 4,934 bus units, and close to over 13,000 drivers and conductors were already adopting fixed wage system and have secured LSCCs.

She noted that DOLE also posted a record high of 1,140,500 youth having been assisted and guided in choosing the right career through its labor market information program.

The figure, she said, was 47 percent higher than DOLE’s target of 772,000 youth for the year.

“The record reflects our commitment in guiding new entrants to the labor force towards skills and competencies that would secure them the best jobs,” she said.

From January to November, DOLE said there were 1,062,602 applicants hired for different types of jobs through the Public Employment Service Offices (PESOs).

The agency was also able to facilitate immediate employment of 111,100 jobseekers hired on the spot through the holding of more than five job fairs a day.

Last July, DOLE launched a community-based campaign against child labor and succeeded in eliminating the abuse in 89 barangays nationwide. Child workers were given assistance so they could return to school instead of having to work.

In terms of labor relations, Baldoz said only three workers’ strikes were recorded for the whole year, all of which occurred in Mindanao.

Local employment

Results of the October 2012 Labor Force Survey (LFS) released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in December showed a drop in the number of employed persons nationwide.

But Baldoz dismissed the reduction as a “normal occurrence” and that employment situation in the country remained positive in 2012.

She insisted the October 2012 LFS indicated a breakthrough in the country’s goal of having more workers with decent and productive jobs.

Based on the latest LFS, there are now 37.7 million employed individuals nationwide, or an employment rate of 93.2 percent. Unemployment remains less than three million and underemployment was lower by 223,000 from last year.

Overseas employment

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Hans Cacdac said overseas hiring was very promising with more than a million OFWs deployed as of October.

Cacdac said the POEA managed to forge new bilateral agreements with at least 17 countries providing better protection and employment terms for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

With the new agreement with Saudi Arabia, Cacdac said, the POEA has allowed the redeployment of Filipino household service workers (HSWs) to the Kingdom.

The POEA has also allowed continuous deployment of OFWs to 186 countries declared labor-compliant by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and restricted hiring in 15 nations that have no protection policies for Filipino workers. It has also repatriated thousands of distressed OFWs and provided them financial help.

The DOLE and POEA have also participated in the successful campaign of the International Labor Organization (ILO) seeking to provide decent working conditions for domestic helpers.

The agencies have also coordinated with other stakeholders for the passage of Kasambahay Bill and waged successful drives against illegal recruitment that resulted in the closure of at least eight establishments and cancellation of licenses of 35 agencies.