Foreign chambers urged to champion core labor standards

DoLE, foreign chambers agree to partner in governance

MANILA, Philippines—Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz has urged the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines (JFCCP) to champion core labor standards and decent work.

She also encouraged JFCCP members to promote best practices in seven industries it considers as “big winners” and where the Philippines is globally competitive.

The labor chief made the pitch in an address to the 2nd Strategic Conversations-Partnerships in Governance Forum organized and sponsored by the department’s Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) at the Microtel Hotel at the Mall of Asia.

The forum, an annual activity of the DoLE’s policy research arm, had for this year the theme, “Bridging Research Policy and Practice.” It runs up to September 8.

The JFCCP, the umbrella organization of foreign chambers of commerce in the Philippines, delivered its message of support to the reforms being initiated by the DoLE through Julian Payne, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

In her speech, Baldoz shared the news to her audience that the country’s tripartite sectors had already formalized its support to the DoLE-initiated reforms in pursuit of the 22-point labor and employment agenda of President Benigno S. Aquino III who, she said, considers the “Filipino human resources as the best asset of the country that must be nurtured and developed.”

“One of these reforms involves the implementation of a Tripartite Certificate of Labor Standards Compliance under the Labor Standards Enforcement Framework. It is in this light that I urge you to do champion within your ranks compliance with our core labor standards,” Baldoz said.

She also urged the JFCCP to exercise vigilance against child labor, human trafficking, and other threats to decent work, expressing DoLE’s readiness to work hand-in-hand with the private sector for a better understanding of the issues that could lead to lesser workplace disputes and, thus, the assurance of industrial peace.

One of the highlights of the forum was the signing by the secretary of a memorandum of agreement with the JFCCP.

The agreement outlines areas of cooperation in communications and engagement in support of the Partnerships in Governance Forum which, among other aims, highlights best practices in governance in public and private enterprises.

The agreement declares that the DoLE and the JFCCP “recognize the importance of investing in the country’s human resource to make the Filipino workers more competitive and employable and at the same time promoting industrial peace and social justice.”

One of the commitments of the DoLE under the agreement is to document issues and concerns surfaced during the annual forum and to consolidate these to formulate practical guides on specific principles on industry self-regulation.

“The DoLE shall identify models or exemplars of self-regulation in business and agreements on areas of policy reforms that may be jointly advocated by government and business toward creating a business environment,” the agreement reads.

Earlier, the JFCCP had called on the country’s policy makers to focus resources on developing seven industries where the Philippines is globally competitive. These seven industries are agri-business; business process outsourcing; creative industries; infrastructure; manufacturing and logistics; mining and tourism; and medical travel and retirement.

Signing the agreement on behalf of the JFCCP were Austin Chamberlain, president of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc. (Amcham); Hubert d’Aboville, president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc. (ECCP); Julian Payne, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc.;

Yasuhiko Aimitsu, president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines Inc; Richard Barclay, president of the Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc.; Eun Gap Chang, president of the Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc.; and Shameem Qurashi, president of the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters. –INQUIRER.net