The Philippines and EU are partners in the promotion of labor rights

Last Monday marked the 128th anniversary of the International Labor Day. Like every year, this event was celebrated in many countries around the world, including in the Philippines. This year also marks the 104th anniversary of the famous 1903 rally that gathered more than 100,000 people in front of the Malacañang Palace at the initiative of the Union Obrera Democratica Filipina to promote Filipino workers’ economic rights and ask for Philippine independence.

This year, we are encouraged by President Duterte’s Labor Day statement in which he stressed that “workers play a significant role in pushing for the rights to humane conditions at work, basic wages and organised acts, including collective bargaining and unionism. The (Philippine) government recognizes these basic rights of workers in all industries, and we are committed to protect and defend these rights.” The European social model being the outcome of a long history of fights by labor organisations to promote human dignity and social justice, let me stress that the European Union shares the administration’s commitment to support the realisation of economic and social rights.

Today’s debate in the Philippines focuses on reforming the “endo” or contractualisation system to ensure more job security for workers, while addressing the flexibility requirements of the economy. Such a debate has existed in several EU member states, including in Denmark where the notion of flexicurity has been introduced and successfully implemented. The term was coined by the then social democratic Prime Minister of Denmark Poul Nyrup Rasmussen in the 1990s. It refers to the combination of labor market flexibility in a dynamic economy and security for workers. Flexicurity has entailed a “golden triangle” with a three-sided mix of flexibility in the labor market, combined with social security, and an active labor market policy with rights and obligations for the unemployed. This agenda has also been supported by the European Commission at the EU level. In the European context, flexicurity is designed and implemented across four policy components, i.e.: 1) flexible and reliable contractual arrangements; 2) comprehensive lifelong learning strategies; 3) effective active labor market policies; and 4) modern social security systems providing adequate income support during employment transitions.

On 26 April 2017, the European Commission opened a new chapter of European integration through the presentation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The Pillar includes 20 key principles and rights for citizens and workers to support fair and well-functioning labor markets and welfare systems. It is meant to be the EU reference framework to guide future policy, so that the rights and protection of workers in Europe are safeguarded and improved. Already now, the Pillar is accompanied by four concrete initiatives to update and complement current EU rules in key areas of work-life balance, information for workers, access to social protection and working time.

Taking into account legitimate concerns regarding the effects of globalisation for workers, the European Commission aims for broad political support and high-level endorsement of the Pillar towards the end of this year.

Let me now put this issue of promotion of labor rights in the context of EU-Philippines relations. Through the GSP+ mechanism that gives duty-free access of some Filipino products to the EU market and enables a constructive dialogue with the Philippines government regarding the implementation of key United Nations Conventions, including International Labor Organisations conventions, the European Union contributes to quality job-creation and to improving workers’ rights in the Philippines.

In 2016, GSP+ exports from the EU increased to almost €1.7 billion, providing quality jobs for many especially in the agricultural sector where exports increased to almost a billion euros of which over €750 million benefiting from GSP+. This adds to the already 500,000 Filipinos employed by European companies in the Philippines.

As EU, we are determined to make the promotion of economic and social rights an important feature of EU-Philippines relations. In this regard, let me underline that the EU-Philippines Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) that was signed in 2012 and that is in the process of ratification by the Philippines Senate and by two EU Member States includes a distinctive chapter devoted to enhancing cooperation in the field of employment and social affairs. This implies cooperation in regional and social cohesion, health and safety at the workplace, skills development, gender equality and decent work, with a view to strengthening the social dimension of globalisation.

International Labor Day reminds us of the unabated struggle workers have been through over the past two centuries to achieve the highest possible social standards. This struggle shall continue in the coming years for the benefits of our economies and workers.

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(Franz Jessen is the Ambassador of the European Union)