DOLE sees more job openings in 2011

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) yesterday said that local employment opportunities are brighter for jobseekers in the coming year.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said more than a million new local jobs are expected to be generated for jobseekers in 2011.

“Our target is more than a million jobs a year and again we see the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry as the main job generator next year,” Baldoz said.

According to Baldoz, the DOLE and other concerned government agencies are already working closely with BPOs to ensure sufficient manpower for the industry.

She said the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), an attached agency of DOLE, has allocated P20 million for free English language communication training for those aspiring to work in BPOs.

“We also had an agreement with BPOs to ensure 100 percent absorption or hiring once the skills training is completed,” Baldoz said.

As part of government efforts to promote local employment, Baldoz said the government also convened a national congress to strengthen DOLE’s job facilitation services.

The labor chief said the government is also working to strengthen the agriculture sector to generate more employment for Filipinos.

Baldoz said the DOLE is already closely coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the implementation of various construction projects that could generate jobs for Filipinos next year.

DOLE has already drafted the guidelines for the emergency employment program they would implement together with DPWH, she said.

Wage hike

Meantime, all workers nationwide can look forward to getting mandated salary increases in the coming year, with the government planning to enforce a “no exemption” policy on the wage hike.

Baldoz yesterday reported that the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) is studying the possibility of a “no exemption” policy for minimum wage earners.

“Since the poverty threshold has been included among the major criterion in setting a minimum wage policy, we are looking seriously into the possibility of providing a no exemption policy in the new wage setting system,” Baldoz said.

“We really want to rationalize our wage setting system, but a no exemption policy must pass through a highly technical study. We cannot really rush these things,” she added.

Under the country’s existing wage setting system, companies experiencing financial difficulty and those employing less than 10 workers can seek a one-year exemption from complying with new wage orders.

When she assumed the labor post last July, Baldoz directed the NWPC to review the existing wage fixing system and look into the possibility of enforcing a two-tiered wage fixing policy that allows the setting of industry as well as performance salary rates.

Baldoz noted that NWPC sought the assistance of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and wage experts from Singapore in the drafting of industry wage guidelines.

“With the new system, we intend to enforce a mandatory floor wage or national minimum wage to protect the incomes of the most vulnerable sectors and a productivity-based approach to determine wages above the minimum wage rates,” Baldoz said.

NPWC executive director Ciriaco Lagunzad III said the first phase of the two-tiered wage system is based essentially on the prevailing poverty threshold.

“We are focusing on poverty threshold as a guide or base in setting the minimum wage per region while the second part, which is the productivity-based system, would be non-mandatory and would be operationalized through guidelines,” Lagunzad explained.

Under the initial guidelines being drafted, the non-mandatory and productivity-based salary increases would consider the sector and the capacity of the company to comply with the pay hike, according to Lagunzad.

The NPWC expects to complete the study soon and enforce the new wage system before the May 1 Labor Day celebration next year. –Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)