PH outpaced by neighbors in employment and competitiveness

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The Philippines has been outpaced by neighboring Asian countries in terms of labor, employment and competitiveness, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said.

Speaking at the launching of the Productivity Toolbox and Single Entry Approach (SENA) conference here on Monday, Baldoz said even Indonesia has overtaken the country in these aspects.

“We’re now competing with Bangladesh; Indonesia is ahead of us,” Baldoz said.

She said that the Philippines has to focus “within our Asian neighbors” and find ways to regain its competitiveness.

Baldoz admitted that to do this, the government needs to give more attention to labor programs.

In a chat with reporters after her speech, Baldoz said the Aquino government has been conducting a series of meetings in a bid to remedy the situation.

She said the need for closer coordination between government agencies was also discussed in these meetings.

“It is not hard to do it. Doing it is an ordinary thing through an excellent way,” she said.

Other government officials had earlier proposed measures to make the country more competitive and draw more investments.

For example, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo has said that to attract fresh investments, the right to security of tenure enjoyed by workers should be clipped.

But this proposal was slammed by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines.

“The right of workers to security of tenure is guaranteed not just by any law, but by the Constitution itself. Secretary Domingo should read the Constitution,” former senator Ernesto Herrera, TUCP secretary-general, said.

Herrera described Domingo’s proposal as “unimaginative,” and likened it to everyday calls for government to spur business activity by simply freezing wages.

“Government should stop using workers as sacrificial lambs in the drive to lure new capital,” he said Herrera.

Instead of trimming workers’ rights, Herrera said the government should reduce administrative red tape; lessen crime and corruption; build up the country’s human resources; ensure stable supply of electricity nationwide; and check unfair trade practices, including smuggling and copyright infringement, that dampen investments.

“What Secretary Domingo wants in effect is for employers to have even more leeway in arbitrarily throwing workers out of their jobs, so that they may be replaced wholesale with new and cheaper labor,” Herrera said. –Judy Quiros, Inquirer Mindanao