Philippine employers to remove age limit requirement to all job seekers

All employers in the Philippines have finally agreed to remove the age limit requirement to job seekers. This means that all job vacancy ads in print and online will no longer show ‘18 to 27 years old,’ ‘not more than 30 years old,’ and other similar phrases.

“We’ve come up with this decision after conducting a series of studies. The results showed that age is not really a hinder for employees to be efficient in their jobs. Stanislaw Gunigundo, president of the Philippine Local Employers Association (PLEA) told reporters in a press conference in Makati yesterday.

“Although it might have a negative effect on some jobs, we think that it is only a minor issue.” Gunigundo added, noting that this new employment hiring policy is set to start in January 2015, and will be implemented nationwide.

Apparently, this age limit requirement for all local job applicants has long been questioned by many. This includes Senator Pia Cayetano, who filed Senate Bill No. 29 or the Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 2013 mid last year.

“The basis for employment should be a person’s knowledge, skills and qualifications which are necessary to perform a job. A person’s age should not be an issue.” Senator Pia Cayetano said that time.

Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Jinggoy Estrada, who was then the Chairman of the Senate on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, have also filed related bills. Last June, Quezon City Councilor Lena Marie Juico filed a resolution in the city council as a support to the bill.

In line with this, an online petition at Change.org was initiated by the Blas F. Ople Policy Center. With the campaign slogan, “Abilidad, hindi edad (Ability, not age), the petition is addressed to Senate President Franklin Drilon and has now nearly 6,000 signatures.

According to the petition, a lot of OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) who decided to go back to the country and look for jobs here in the Philippines have experienced this age discrimination practice by local employers. This is despite the fact they have gained long years of experience in working abroad.

As of press time, Senator Pia Cayetano has not commented on this issue. Nevertheless, PCOO (Presidential Communications Operations Office) Secretary Sonny Coloma said that President Noynoy Aquino has already informed, and that the president was happy to hear the news.

Meanwhile, former Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casino said he welcomes the idea with open arms. However, he insisted that this is not the real solution to the unemployment problem. Casino said that the Aquino administration should increase the minimum wage of workers. –http://tahonews.com/philippine-employers-removes-age-limit-requirement-job-seekers/