Monthly Archives: October 2017

By Michael Bartlett, Oct 20, 2017 The chemical plant workers who were most likely to be exposed to airborne asbestos fibers were those in charge of maintaining and repairing equipment with asbestos insulation, as these operations would require cutting through thick layers of asbestos. – By Michael Bartlett

BY THE MANILA TIMES, OCTOBER 20, 2017 TWO alleged cybersex traffickers who sold children to foreigners online were arrested in Manila, an official said on Friday. In a press briefing on Friday, Senior Supt. Villamor Tuliao, Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division Director, reported that suspects Jamil Sampaga and Anthony Mabansag were charged…

Affordable robotic automation is now available to mom and pop shops, which is driving crazy growth in the robotics industry. By Greg Nichols for Robotics | October 20, 2017 According to a new analysis by Inkwood Research, the global market for collaborative robots is on track to generate a net revenue of about $9.27 billion…

by Jhoanna Ballaran, Inquirer, Oct 20, 2017 Controlling prices of commodities, increasing workers’ wages, and fighting criminality are the top three urgent concerns of Filipinos, according to the latest result of Pulse Asia’s September 2017 Ulat ng Bayan survey released on Friday.

By Gaea Katreena Cabico (philstar.com), Oct 20, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment has issued an order requiring offices to give employees standing breaks for employees to the health risks related to sedentary work.

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), Oct 20, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has now tied Vietnam in terms of labor cost attractiveness for manufacturing companies, according to Japanese investors, but the country still has a slight competitive advantage over its regional peers due to the set of incentives provided by the Philippine Economic…

By Buena Bernal Economics/Business, Philippines, Oct 20, 2017 Korean firms are leaving the Philippines, and something has to be done. South Korean companies, the third-largest investor in the Philippines, are increasingly departing for Vietnam and other Southeast Asian destinations, driven by lower costs, red tape and an aversion to Filipino worker militancy and their preference…

BY JORDAN ECKER | OCT 19, 2017, http://prospect.org/blog/tapped/big-banks-blame-automation-they-offshore-american-jobs When Capital One announced in August that they were laying off 400 call-center workers from a Rolling Meadows, Illinois, location, the company officials claimed that they were moving toward automation. “Call volumes continue to decrease as customers increasingly self-service through a mix of our digital tools and…

Kieran Guilbert, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Oct 19, 2017 LONDON – A landmark ruling by Britain’s highest court in favor of a Filipino domestic worker who alleges she was trafficked and treated like a slave by a Saudi diplomat could pave the way for other victims to seek justice, activists said on Wednesday.

Property Tycoon Urges Php200-300 Hike in Daily Wages for Construction Workers A boon for labor, the proposal could be tough for small construction firms that cannot absorb the extra cost By Pauline Macaraeg | Oct 17, 2017 Calls for higher wages are rather commonplace, especially from the country’s leftist labor unions. But a proposal to…

The Way Forward: Workers Need the Rule of Law By RIBEN D. TORRES President TRADE UNION CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES-ITUC Delivered during the National Tripartite Conference on Trade and Labor Standards Makati Diamond Residences, 11-12 October 2017

BY REECE FERGUSON, Oct 17, 2017 Picture the scene: It’s 1976 and Adolph “Dolph-Dolph” Hitler has just been made vice-chancellor of Germany, in what many see as one of the biggest and most unlikely political comebacks in history.

Read more here.

Read more here.

BY REY ELBO, Manila Times, Oct 17, 2017 THE CEO of one medium-sized enterprise woke up one morning to a serious management issue. Without taking his breakfast at home, he rushed to the office and convened a meeting with his department heads. His number one concern: labor productivity — a basic issue often ignored by…

By TOOTS OPLE, Manila Times, Oct 16, 2017 THE first time I heard her speak, I knew she was telling the truth. The domestic worker from Leyte told me about the sexual harassment she experienced while working in the household of a Philippine ambassador. He was a seasoned diplomat who was highly regarded in his…

By Heather Haddon, Oct 15, 2017 Food retailers are racing to leverage one of the most important weapons in their battle to keep people coming to grocery stores: data. “Data is the new battleground,” says Stuart Aitken, chief executive of 84.51˚, Kroger Co.’s data-analytics unit, whose name derives from the longitude of the division’s Cincinnati…

By Miriam Desacada (The Philippine Star), Oct 13, 2017 TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Two workers were buried alive in a landslide in Northern Samar on Wednesday.

by MIKHAIL FLORES, Nikkei staff writer, Oct 12, 2017 A Philippine soldier stands guard in front of damaged buildings in Marawi City on Sept. 4. © Reuters MANILA — Foreign investors are increasingly watchful over the investment climate in the Philippines, as the latest foreign direct investment figures announced this week showed inflows had reached…

by Patty Pasion, Rappler, Oct 12, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – The United States Department of Labor (DOL) lauded the Philippine government’s efforts to eliminate child labor. In the findings of the DOL’s Worst Forms of Child Labor report for 2016, the US agency said the Philippines has “made a significant advancement” in its drive.

BY M G MARTIN, Oct 12, 2017 http://philippineslifestyle.com/uncle-pimped-girl-10/ The arrest followed a tip-off by Australian police who tracked the man’s activity on the dark web A junior school teacher has been arrested on suspicion for pimping out his 10-year-old niece to a foreign child abuser.

By BusinessMirror, Oct 12, 2017 Sometimes it is difficult to truly understand what is going on when you are reading what seems like conflicting stories. A British newspaper runs a story headlined, “Robots will destroy our jobs—and we’re not ready for it”. One solution seems easy enough. Learn to repair the robots that take away…

In brief What if you could improve your mental aptitude and performance by directly stimulating specific parts of the brain? That’s what a team of researchers from Boston University wanted to find out, and they developed an experimental procedure that can change how you think.

BY Jill Petzinger, Oct 10, 2017 The rise of the robots, coming first for our jobs, then maybe our lives, is a growing concern in today’s increasingly automated world. Just today (Oct. 10), the World Bank chief said the world is on a “crash course” to automate millions of jobs. But a recent report from…

A new alliance between OSHA and a robotics industry trade group puts safety in the spotlight By Greg Nichols for Robotics | October 10, 2017 The Robotic Industries Association (RIA), which is North America’s leading robotics trade group, just announced the signing of an alliance partnership with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the…

By Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star), Oct 10, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — Over four million Filipino youths are not studying, are unemployed and face bleak job opportunities, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

by Malaya, Oct 10, 2017 Eight large industry associations and members of the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) in the Philippines are echoing calls for Congress to retain the zero value-added tax (VAT) provisions of export-oriented companies registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

by Malaya, Oct 10, 2017 Investments registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) rose 94 percent in the first nine months of the year pushed largely by investments in ecozone development and manufacturing.

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), Oct 9, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — Employers are against any further increase in the minimum wage as well as to the proposed hike in the monthly contribution of Social Security System (SSS) members.

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), Oct 9, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — Employers want more concrete developments and reforms to make the country a more attractive investment destination and are fed up with the bickering in government.