DOLE disputes report on Pinoy workers’ condition

MANILA, Philippines — Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III yesterday disputed a report that the Philippines is among the worst countries in the world for workers, saying Filipino workers enjoy greater protection under the Duterte administration.

Bello also criticized the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index 2019 placing the Philippines among the top 10 worst countries in the world for working people.

He maintained that the government has been consistent in its efforts to protect Filipino workers and their families.

“It is unfortunate that ITUC failed to see the consistent efforts of the government in protecting the welfare of the Filipino workers. To say that the country has regressed in protecting the workers’ rights is a drastically one-sided finding,” he added.

According to Bello, the cases of violence and murder, brutal repression of public protests and repressive laws among workers are all allegations and are not officially reported as labor-related incidents.

He said the Philippines was unjustly vilified in the index.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) chief noted the efforts of the government in advancing the rights and welfare of workers, including the enforcement of labor laws and standards, particularly in ensuring every worker’s right to safe and humane working conditions and to security of tenure.

Bello also cited laws that championed the workers’ interests, including the Occupational Safety and Health and Expanded Maternity Leave laws.

He added that the DOLE is in the process of hiring 500 additional labor laws compliance officers to complement the assessment of over 900,000 establishments across the country.

“DOLE is not sleeping on its job and responsibility to protect the workers, in the same way that we are mandated to encourage businesses to investing more,” Bello added.

He assured the public that the government remains committed to providing essence to its mandate “despite these unwarranted accusations that undermine the genuine efforts of the administration.”