Labor groups back probe into foreign workers, stress protection of their rights
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — 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.
Sentro: Foreign workers should have the same protections
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.
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