Monthly Archives: April 2012

The Filipino people’s public approval of the Aquino III administration has been seriously eroded. And they have a clear message to their elected Chief Executive: shape up, and focus on easing poverty, creating more jobs, managing well the swelling population, and moderating prices.

Investing 2% of GDP over the next five years in 12 countries will create up to 48 million jobs over five years New Report: Growing Green and Decent Jobs 18 April 2012: A new ITUC report with economic analysis commissioned by the Millennium Institute shows how investing 2% of GDP in the green economy in…

DOHA: There is increasing demand for Filipina maids in Qatar despite the talk of Manila thinking of imposing a ban on sending domestic workers to GCC countries.

For the first time since 1984, the Department of Health (DOH) has reported the highest number of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases in the country.

But teachers’ group remains wary MANILA, Philippines – Once the flagship education program of the Aquino administration is fully implemented, Filipino graduates would be equipped with at least two foreign languages and a broader view of the labor market.

Kuala Lumpur, Apr. 24 – The 27th formal exploratory talks between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) began with high hopes as both parties identified preliminary decision points on principles that will serve as a framework for the eventual signing of a peace agreement.

THE PHILIPPINES has received an additional raw sugar quota of 72,374 metric tons (MT) from the United States, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said today.

THE local research group Ibon Foundation Inc. has urged the government to implement a significant minimum-wage increase, as this would bridge the widening gap between the minimum wage and cost of living.

THOSE who attended our regular media forum at Annabel’s in Quezon City on Saturday, April 21, could not help but notice that newly installed Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) President Ernesto “Boy” Herrera was speaking with a heavy heart when he outlined the plans and programs of the labor center he now heads…

WASHINGTON – The World Bank (WB) has tagged the Philippines as a model in providing a social safety net that cushions the impact of global financial and economic problems.

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MANILA, Philippines – The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) cited yesterday the need for the Philippines to have a law on reproductive health (RH) to institutionalize policies and programs on maternal and child health.

While the president has been urging “insourcing,” the government has been sending money to the Philippines to train foreign workers for jobs in English-speaking call centers.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Arguing that 3,300 working Americans should not face severe economic hardship because their employer chooses to offshore call center work, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) has requested that the U.S. Department of Labor grant Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) benefits to T-Mobile USA customer service representatives at seven U.S. call centers enters…

Voice problems plague one in four workers at call centers, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Ulster in the U.K. found that 25 percent of people on the job — which, as everyone knows, involves lots of talking on the phone — has had a work-related sore throat, loss of voice…

T-Mobile workers, CWAers and labor activists rally at T-Mobile USA corporate headquarters in Bellevue, Wash. Below, activists carried banners with messages from workers at the seven call centers T-Mobile wants to close in June.

At least 60 percent of people in developing countries lack effective safety net coverage, as these nations struggle to protect their citizens from the impacts of global financial volatility and food and fuel price hikes, according to a new World Bank (WB) data released in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).

Twenty countries will adopt Philippine initiatives to protect women and overseas Filipino workers, especially in crisis situations, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said.

Rising revenues and job creation, backed by new investments, are highlighting the surging growth in the Philippines’ business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. On March 20, the World Bank said in its Philippines quarterly update that the BPO industry is expected to create 100,000 jobs in 2012 alone. The number of employees in the sector had…

In a continuing effort to support the government of the Philippines in addressing priorities concerning human rights education among soldiers and military officers, the Embassy of Canada recently organized a roundtable discussion for members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and representatives from civil society and the Commission on Human Rights.

The basic education system of the Philippines faces two major problems: (1) high dropout rates in primary and secondary schools, and (2) lack of mastery of specific skills and content as reflected in poor performance in standard tests for both Grade IV and Grade VIII (second year high school) students. Unfortunately, the proposed K+12 curriculum…

Statistical projections tell RP will have 103-million people in 2015 and in 40 years we will be 180 million – almost double in less than half a century.

THE ECONOMY could “surprise many” by growing 5% or even higher in the first quarter, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) have projected.

SINGAPORE — Asia’s economic growth probably troughed in the first quarter but a bounce-back may be muted, a Reuters poll showed.

THE Philippines is “on track” in achieving an ambitious growth target for 2012 “in light of the very good news in the economic front,” Secretary Gregory Domingo of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Thursday.

Manila (ILO News) – Young Filipino leaders raised concerns on youth unemployment and migration, access to information, education and training, protection and promotion of workers’ rights in a recent youth employment forum held in Manila. The forum joined by over a hundred youth, was an opportunity to review the draft National Action Plan for Youth…

MANILA, Philippines – Multilateral lender International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday said the Philippines would be the laggard in economic growth among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-5 (ASEAN-5) this year and in 2013.

THE EUROPEAN Union reiterated its intention to negotiate with the Philippines a comprehensive free trade agreement which will include chapters on business and regulatory environments, a Trade official said on Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines – Multilateral lender International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday said the Philippines would be the laggard in economic growth among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-5 (ASEAN-5) this year and in 2013.

Multimillion dollar USAID program trains college students in the Philippines to work in offshore call centers, but one Congressman tells InformationWeek he’s going to put a stop to it.