Case Study

(Chapter 10)

Reality Bites in the Labor Movement

For many of our countrymen, a job that will feed them and their families and
provide for a decent roof above their heads is the first step in finding poverty. And for
those who already have jobs, seeking higher wages is the next step to improving their
standard of living.
During the last decades, however, our workers have learned that the route to
receiving higher take-home pays – even if just to keep up with inflation – is not
something that they can get from government, especially with changes in labor laws that
ultimately favoured business.
The decentralization to regional levels of wage boards, for example, that would
hear and grant wage increases had weakened the strong militant labor union movement
of the 1960s and 1970s.
Labor also lost its fight against “contractualization”, which grants legitimacy to the
concept of contract day-to-day work. This ultimately threatened job security of workers
and even led to decimating the ranks of organized labor.
The rise of industrial estates that have the support of local governments
promising the absence of labor problems has bred a docile breed of workers. During the
recent financial global crisis, factory workers accepted without fuss management’s
decision to layoff or reduce work days.

New working environment

This is not saying, though, that our workers are being coerced to accept these
condition. In the electronics industry, for example, workers realize that their livelihoods
are intimately linked with the health of countries that require the production lines to keep
moving.
Recently, with Japan’s tsunami and earthquake problems, orders for electronic
components for automobiles and electronic gadgets had temporarily slowed down. Our
affected workers have accepted their resulting fate without rancor.
Perhaps the biggest factor that has changed workers’ views, especially in the
electronics industry, is the more transparent relationship they enjoy with the
management of the companies they work in. The rules are clearly defined, and are
followed in accordance to what the law dictates.
Irrelevant and inconsistent
The face of our domestic labor force and its operating conditions have changed
so much that we are forced to question the relevance and effectiveness, even the
appropriateness, of today’s labor laws. There are about 40 pieces of legislation that fal
under this category.
Instead of opening discussing, for example, the concept of job security and its
significance (or insignificance) in today’s world order, our lawmakers have chosen to
look the other way. Instead, they have tacitly come up with supplemental laws that skirt
around these controversial statuses in an attempt to attract companies to set up their
businesses.
In many industrial estates, the right to organize and the right to strike are
blatantly disregarded, which is directly in violation of basic tenets in our Constitution.
Also, is there a need for a minimum wage law? Undeniably, experience tells us
that any increase in the minimum wage causes an inflationary cycle in the economy
they ultimately negates any initial benefits that workers get from the few pesos they get.

Insufficient and lacking

In other areas, the state’s executive and legislative houses have been remiss in
protecting our migrant workers, not only when they get into trouble with their host
countries’ laws, but also in receiving fair wages and being accorded humane working
conditions.

As one of the countries that have a large migrant work force in the global arena,
the Philippine government should take a more active role in defining international laws
that govern the dignity of the transient work force and its rights.

We should also be more vigilant against illegal labor traffic that largely concerns our
women and children. Most crimes that involved cross-border prostitution can be traced
to weak immigration rules that allow rampant smuggling of people.

Overall labor program

Finally, there is need for a truly appropriate policy that will guide government in
overseeing the affairs of our overseas Filipino workers in relation to national growth.

Our OFWs continue to account about a billion dollars a month in remittances.

This precious money has not just kept the economy afloat, but also saved the country
from strife caused by hunger and discontent.

These remittances represent an asset that should be channelled more effectively

to spur economic growth in more sustainable terms, and not just as money that is spent
on non-productive consumables. Are there programs in place to assist, encourage and
motivate our OFWs to use their earnings for more productive endeavors?

In the same breath, there is a need to look at new industries or sectors that will
provide employment to Filipinos who choose to stay in the country or who are
repatriated back for any reason. Again, how is the current administration doing in its
promise of creating more jobs for Filipino workers staying behind or are returning from
abroad?

Bigger challenges for labor leaders

It is not sufficient for today’s labor leaders to merely agitate and demand for
higher salaries. They have a bigger challenge. They have to join hands with the
government and private sector to sort out all these realities in our changing labor front in
order to move forward and provide for a better future to the workers and the nation as a
whole.

This article gives clear picture of the status of labor movement in the Philippines.
Give your reaction on the article as future employer, future employee, as student of
labor management relation and possibly, as future lawmakers.

Analyze and investigate the growth and decline of Philippine labor movement.

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