TUCP blog

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) today welcomed reports of the improvement in the country’s employment rates.

However, the TUCP said that government should do more in the area of ensuring better wages and benefits for workers and invest more on skills training programs.

According to the National Statistics Office the number of Filipino workers employed increased by a million in 2006 bringing the country’s total on-the-job workers at 33.5 million, up from 32 million from the previous year.

“While we are elated over the news that a million workers found jobs last year, the TUCP feels that government and the business sectors should do more in improving living standards for the workers and their families”, TUCP said.

TUCP noted that wages and benefits remain low in the country barely affording workers decent living standards.    The minimum wage in Metro Manila, the highest in country, is only P350 per day.  Independent estimates also place more that 30% Filipinos live in poverty.

“There is a lot more room for improvement in terms of ensuring that the economic gains achieved in the last five years actually trickle down to the people”, TUCP added.

“It’s should not only about quantity of jobs created but we should also focus on how these jobs help alleviate the living conditions of workers”, TUCP stressed.

The TUCP also said that government should put more funds into state-run training programs to address the perennial problem of skills mismatch.

TUCP said that the National Government should accelerate training and re-training schemes to ensure that workers skills are constantly upgraded and are par with the demands of international competition.

The training for middle-level manpower would also address the inefficiencies of the country’s education system which tends to produce graduates who are more inclined towards the arts rather than technical and science-based courses.

It’s not the end of the world for those who will be unable to go abroad as home service workers (HSWs) due to the tightened regulations recently imposed by the government.  They can land jobs in the booming call center industry in the country.  This is the advice of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

Representatives of HSWs and some recruitment agencies have recently taken issue over the new rules issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) warning that these new rules will drastically cut the demand for Filipino HSWs abroad.

The rules include raising the minimum pay from $200 to $400; raising the age limit from 18 to 23, and banning recruitment agencies from collecting placement fees from HSWs.

According to TUCP those affected by the order can instead undergo a training program for call center agents and apply for the hundreds of thousands of jobs now available in call centers nationwide.

The TUCP in cooperation with TESDA is currently conducting a 100-hour program which teaches conversational English, American geography, and introduction to computers.

TUCP said the training program is open to 18 to 55 years old.  Trainees need to pass a screening process that will qualify them for the program.

TUCP noted that a good number of those bound for Middle East and other Asian countries are college graduates or speak good English and are good candidates for call center jobs. 

TUCP says that some 100,000 jobs are available in the call center establishments.

TUCP reported that it has trained close to a thousand call center agents.  Most of whom are college undergraduates, high school, and unemployed youth.

“We have trained market vendors, tricycle drivers, retrenched factory workers, and students and most of them are now employed in various call centers”, TUCP said.

After completing the course we will also help them get jobs, TUCP added.

TUCP added that starting pay for call center jobs range from 12,000 to 15,000 a month which is better that the US$200 that home service providers get in certain countries.

“And the good thing about this is that the HSWs need not leave their families behind”, TUCP said.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) does not believe that Filipino home workers will be priced out of the international market when the government imposes a new policy increasing minimum wages from $200 to $400.

The TUCP is reacting to a statement of the Federated Association of Manpower Agencies (FAME), an organization of recruitment agencies,  criticizing the decision of the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) to impose the new minimum.

FAME adds that the Philippine Government cannot demand what it wants from foreign employers and decide how much they want to pay Filipino workers.

FAME stresses that the issue of wages should be left to “market realities”.

TUCP disagrees with this position saying that it is incumbent upon the Government to ensure minimum protection for home workers particularly on the issue of minimum wages.

“It is the mandate of POEA to look after the best interest of Pinay home workers and to see to it that they get what they deserve.  POEA should be commended for this decision”, TUCP said.

“FAME wants to keep minimum hiring at $200 for obvious reasons.  The amount is really a pittance considering the hardships Filipino household workers go through”, TUCP added.

TUCP said that FAME should restudy its position on the matter and consider its social responsibility to workers.

TUCP adds that Filipino home workers are in demand abroad not only because of cheap wages but for their good grasp of English and their caring nature.

The TUCP today branded the P25.00 wage increase ordered by the Metro Manila wage board as too inconsequential and will hardly make a dent in improving the living standards of workers in Metro Manila.
 
TUCP earlier petitioned the National Capital Regional Wages and Productivity Board to increase minimum wages by P75.00.
 
TUCP said that it will call upon the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) which has the power to review the decisions of the wage boards to improve on the order.
 
“As soon as we get a copy of the order, we will file an appeal before the NWPC”, TUCP vowed. 
 
TUCP has yet to receive a copy of the order.
TUCP is also concerned that other regional wage boards may take the P25 increase as the benchmark in making their decisions.
 
The TUCP also called on both houses of Congress to fast track discussions on legislative proposals to grant tax exemptions to minimum wage earners and middle income workers.
 The TUCP said that the passage of the law is necessary to augment the measly amount granted by the NCR wage board.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) declared support to the proposal of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to implement a staggered work time schedule for government and private employees in Metro Manila.

TUCP said that the proposed measure would save workers and the employers billions of pesos worth of lost fuel, productivity, and time.

The MMDA experiment seeks to move the working schedule of government employees from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. while those in the private sector would report to work from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. The proposal intends to decongest and reduce volume of vehicular traffic by some 20% to 30%

The TUCP said that the experiment of the MMDA might just work and would benefit workers who are forced to waste at least three hours a day on the road due to traffic congestion.

TUCP also said that in the regular working hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. workers end up spending more time waiting for a ride and enduring long hours of traffic thereafter. “They lose valuable time that they can spend with their families or much needed recreation,” TUCP said.

“We are hopeful that Bayani’s new experiment will reduce the time spent by Metro Manila workers on the road and thus enable them to spend more time with their families especially this Christmas season,” TUCP said.

TUCP also added that many workers will welcome the proposal as this will give them more time of sleep and will enable them to do some other chores in their homes before they report to work.