Fishing, canning industry adopts voluntary

Philippines (PNA) – As a prime exporter of processed fish products, the fishing and canning industry in the Zamboanga Peninsula has adopted its own voluntary code of good practices in pursuit of the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DoLE’s) reform agenda on industry self-governance.

DoLE Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis Baldoz announced over the weekend after receiving a report from DoLE Region 9 Director Ponciano M. Ligutom, who said the fishing and canning industry has already adopted its voluntary code of good practices dubbed “A Voluntary Code of Good Practices on Decent Work in the Fishing and Canning Industries.”

Baldoz said the code is the product of the concerted efforts of DoLE-9 and its tripartite partners who had come up with the policy after a series of dialogues and consultations with all stakeholders, including players in the fishing, canning, and bottled sardines industries, DoLE-9 Regional Coordinating Committee (DoLE-RCC), Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and representatives from the Zamboanga Peninsula Occupational Safety and Health Network Inc. (ZamPen OSHNET).

“The code will be signed on March 30, and Secretary Baldoz will be present during the signing,” said Ligutom.
Signatories will include Edgar B. Lim of the Zamboanga City Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (ZCTIPC), who represents the private sector, and Jose S. Juan of the Philippine Integrated Industries Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (PIILI-TUCP) representing the labor sector, and Ligutom.

Also signing the code are the officials of the Industrial Group of Zamboanga, Inc. (IGZI), Southern Philippines Deep-Sea Fishing Association (SOPHIL), and ZamPen OSHNET Inc., together with representatives from 14 fishing corporations and 11 canning companies.

Baldoz said Zamboanga Peninsula’s voluntary code of good practices reflects the long-term commitment of tripartite partners in the fishing and canning industry to ensure the sustainability of the industry outside the framework of government regulation, in support of DoLE’s reform of industry self-governance.

“Promoting sound labor-management relations leading to industrial peace among companies and establishments is imperative in the sustainable development of the fishing and canning industry,” Baldoz said, emphasizing that with the Philippines as the leading exporter of processed and canned fish in the world market, more jobs are expected to be generated by the sector on top of the 15,000 and 5,261 workers currently employed in the fishing and canning industries, respectively. –Manila Bulletin