Monthly Archives: November 2017

by Pawlowski, TODAY, Nov 21, 2017 When you’re feeling angry, stressed or overexcited, let a little alone time soothe you back to a more peaceful state. Just 15 minutes of solitude — no phones or other devices, please — can leave you more relaxed, calm and centered, a recent study published in Personality and Social…

By Helen Flores and Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star), Nov 21, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — Despite low investments in education, the Philippines has improved its position in the 2017 World Talent Ranking report released by leading global business school International Institute for Management Development (IMD) yesterday.

By John Mangun, Businessmirror, Nov 21, 2017 Maybe it’s because the new high-tech sex robots have been in the news lately that we are hearing again about the death of call centers due to “artificial intelligence.” It might be well to point out that it is called “artificial” for a reason. Likewise, a “sexbot” is…

Global Employment Trends for Youth 2017 Despite a significant fall in youth unemployment since the height of the economic crisis in 2009, persistent unemployment and a lack of quality job opportunities continue to hamper young people’s quest for decent work. News | 20 November 2017 GENEVA (ILO News) – Young people are estimated to account…

The report notes, however, that extreme poverty in the region dropped to 7% as of 2013 from a high of 17% in 2005 by Lian Buan, Rappler, Nov 19, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – Around 90% of the 36 million people in Southeast Asia living below the international poverty line are Filipinos and Indonesians, according to…

By Roderick Abad, Businessmirror, Nov 18, 2017 The evolving global outsourcing landscape—now trending toward the experience-first model—gives an adaptable and talent-laden destination like the Philippines the opportunity to sustain the growth of its business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

by Ben O. de Vera, Inquirer, Nov 16, 2017 Sustenance sent back home through banks by Filipinos working and living abroad declined 8.3 percent year-on-year to $2.186 billion in September partly due to the closure of a number of overseas money service providers, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said yesterday.

(3rd UPDATE) The Philippines posts a ‘spectacular’ 6.9% economic growth in the 3rd quarter despite slower consumption by Chrisee Dela Paz and Chris Schnabel, Rappler, Nov 16, 2017 MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – Even if government spending and the agriculture sector slowed down, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew faster than expected by 6.9%…

by Vito Barcelo, Manila Standard, Nov 16, 2017 Various labor and clean air advocates appealed to the Department of Labor and Employment to immediately act on complaints against various steel factories in the country that continue to violate occupational safety and health hazard laws.

By Samuel Medenilla, Manila Bulletin, Nov 16, 2017 The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Thursday it is winning the war against illegal forms of contractualization after it facilitated the regularization of more than 120,000 workers.

ByCarl Samson, Nov 16, 2017 Filipino helpers in Hong Kong are being tricked with the promise of better-paying jobs in Russia, a senior Philippine official confirmed. Citing data from the Philippine embassy in Moscow, the anonymous official told South China Morning Post that over 4,000 undocumented Filipinos are currently working in Russia. Most of them…

Senior Philippine official says domestic helpers lured to take up bogus jobs in Russia, Brazil and Turkey http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2120103/thousands-hong-kongs-filipino-workers-fall-victim-overseas Hong Kong has been a top breeding ground for job recruitment frauds as thousands of Filipino domestic helpers in the city have been trafficked to countries like Russia, Brazil and Turkey for bogus jobs, a senior Philippine…

http://news.ijm.org/9-children-rescued-from-remote-island-in-the-philippines-thanks-to-canadian-tip/ One little girl was hidden behind a door. Another was riding her bike in the neighborhood. Another was at a Girl Scouts meeting. But IJM and Philippine authorities found them all, bringing nine children total to safety. Ranging from 2 to 9 years old, the girls and boys had been victims of cybersex trafficking.

By Jess Shankleman and Chris Martin, Nov 14, 2017 The most abundant element may supply almost a fifth of global energy by 2050 and eliminate enough emissions to cancel out all the pollution in the U.S., according to a group of industrial companies from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to Toyota Motor Corp.

The Straits Times/Asia News Network, Nov 14, 2017 Samantha, 28, was shocked and speechless when her senior manager placed his hand on her buttocks one night when she was working late. She later found out that he had cornered another colleague to try to kiss her. He had also touched yet another colleague’s breasts, among…

by PHILIP PERRY, Nov 14, 2017 What qualities define a good leader? Is it vision, the ability to understand and negotiate with people, drive, an expectation of excellence, or a stunningly brilliant intellect? A new study finds that the last one may actually be a hindrance. Those who are exceedingly intelligent, while still some of…

Read more here.

by Marlon Ramos, Inquirer, Nov 13, 2017 The Supreme Court has invalidated three resolutions issued by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), which stripped retired state workers of their right to enjoy their full retirement benefits.

‘We are optimistic that this ASEAN Declaration on the Adoption of the ASEAN Youth Development Index will translate into the formulation of more relevant youth policies,’ says National Youth Commission Chair Aiza Seguerra by Jee Y. Geronimo, Rappler, Nov 13, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) adopted on…

‘Overtime, over day’ is the workers’ pejorative term for the very long hours in certain sections in Hanjin. Workers cite these long hours as contributing to exhaustion, illnesses and, worse, fatal accidents. The accident is another in a series of many deaths and injuries in shipbuilder Hanjin, even after DOLE allegedly looked into the ‘bad’…

Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines, known as HHIC Phil, was established in February 2006 by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction of South Korea. In the same month, the first ship building contract was signed for 4 container ships. In May 2006, the construction of a shipyard began on Redondo Peninsula – on the northern…

Read more here.

ANOTHER HANJIN WORKER FALLS TO DEATH! AMAPO- TUCP union workers report a worker on allegedly “overtime, over day” fell to his death Friday afternoon in Dock 5 at Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp. Philippines in Subic Bay.

By Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star), Nov 11, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is opening its doors to foreign-owned training centers for the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry to enable the sector’s transition to higher value services, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

By Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star), Nov 11, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — The government has temporarily stopped the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to all destinations in a bid to control illegal recruitment in the country.

By: Carla P. Gomez – Correspondent, INQInquirer Visayas, Nov 11, 2017 BACOLOD CITY—Two workers were killed in an accident on Saturday morning at the construction site of a mall being developed by Ayala Corp. in Barangay 8 here, police said.

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), Nov 10, 2017 MANILA, Philippines — Manila ranks among the worst cities in Asia when it comes to the time people spend daily on traffic gridlock, a study commissioned by ride-sharing company Uber showed yesterday.

by Karen Lema, Nov 9, 2017 MANILA (Reuters) – The outsourcing industry in the Philippines, which has dethroned India as the country with the most call centers in the world, is worried that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) will eat into the $23 billion sector.

Advances in computer vision, speech, analytics, and mobile robotics promise to affect any jobs related to these skills. By Bob Violino | November 9, 2017 There’s much concern about the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on jobs and the economy. And while it’s difficult to know for certain which types of jobs will likely…

The Department of Labor and Employment is open to creating a joint draft of an executive order against contractualization that would be submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte by Patty Pasion, Rappler, Nov 9, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – Despite the issuance of a government order that regulates contractualization, the fight to abolish it continues.