Message of Rep. Raymond Democrito T. Mendoza at the Opening of the Follow-Up National Tripartite Conference on FOA

Message of Rep. Raymond Democrito T. Mendoza
Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)
At the Opening of the Follow-Up National Tripartite Conference on Freedom of Association: Towards Fair Globalization and Decent Work
02 December 2009, Hotel Sofitel, Manila

Honorable Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita
ILO Country Director Linda Wirth,
Undersecretaries of the Department of Labor and Employment
Esteemed partners from the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines
Colleagues from the ILO,
Fellow trade union leaders and activists,
Brothers and sisters, good morning

We, trade unions, employers, government and other stakeholders,
are here today on a very pressing concern.
We are here today to collectively work on things we want to change;
on things we want to do to ensure social justice,
achieve fairer globalisation, and decent work.

Filipinos are among the most innovative in the world.
We just need to be challenged.
We need to be pushed, to be under the gun.
Deadlines concentrate our mind, and make us focus and get things over quickly.

The ILO high level mission got us moving.
Things which have been pending for some time are now moving.
Workshop after workshop, meeting after meeting, discussions after discussions.
We are making follow-up action to the ILO mission quickly.

Action on long-standing ILO issues regarding Philippine compliance
with ILO core standards has been accelerated.
This will demonstrate our seriousness in resolving these ILO issues,
and fulfilling our international commitments.
We are happy that the Philippine tripartite sectors have had their contributions to making these things possible.

It looks like we have an opportunity to implement an ILO-assisted Better Work Program in the country in 2010.

The Better Work Program is about improving labor standards and promoting better working conditions through global tools for labor standards monitoring and remediation systems, including training, self assessment, labor inspection, information materials, etc.

The tripartite sectors have their own inputs, and will have important roles to play.

The next three days will have great effect on compliance
with labor standards in the Philippines.
Today’s discussions and agreements will set the tone for the
next two days and the coming years.

We look forward to a fruitful meeting, and a historic December 2009.