MANILA, Philippines — Reminding them that “labor is the creator of capital,” Vice President Jejomar C. Binay urged businessmen to take care of their workers by ensuring compliance with accepted wage and other labor standards.
“You must take care of your labor force. Labor is the creator of capital. Without labor, there will be no capital,” Binay said during the induction of officers and trustees of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Marco Polo Hotel in Cebu City last Friday.
“Within President Aquino’s Labor Agenda, the issues of minimum wage, social protection, workplace safety, compliance of labor standards, and security of tenure stand as concrete considerations. It is here where I ask that you consider devoting your efforts,” he said.
The Vice President said business is the engine of economic growth because it generates jobs for the surrounding population.
However, he said work must be decent for work to be true to its purpose, and that it is businessmen and employers who are in a preeminent position to safeguard this.
Binay also said that he believes socially responsible corporations are those that are fully aware of the rights and desires of their various stakeholders and not just their shareholders.
“The owners and capitalists have their stake as do the employees. The communities around the businesses are stakeholders as well. They provide not only the natural and human resources needed by the enterprises, but also the revenue which keeps the businesses afloat,” Binay said.
“All stakeholders are thus to be given what is due them, within the spirit of justice. All are to find fulfillment without disadvantage to the others, again as justice demands,” he added. –JC BELLO RUIZ, Manila Bulletin
