TRENDS, NETWORKS, AND CRITICAL THINKING

Chapter 9: Labor and Migration

Objectives:
1. Define labor and migration.
2. Discover agencies that assist in protecting the rights and welfare of the
migrant workers.
3. Identify the technology trends in Southeast Asia.

The Constitutional Provision on Protection to Labor

The State shall afford full protection to

labor, local and overseas, organized and
unorganized, and promote full employment and
equality of employment opportunities for all. It
shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-
organization, collective bargaining and
negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities,
including the right to strike in accordance with
law. They shall been titled to security of tenure,
humane conditions of work, and a living wage.
They shall also participate in policy and
decision-making processes affecting their rights
and benefits as may be provided by law.

The State shall promote the principle of shared responsibility between workers and
employers and the preferential use of voluntary modes in settling disputes, including
conciliation, and shall enforce their mutual compliance therewith to foster industrial peace.

The State shall regulate the relations between workers and employers, recognizing
the right of labor to its just share in the fruits of production and the right of enterprises to
reasonable returns on investments, and to expansion and growth.

Source; National Labor Relations http://nlrc.dole.gov.ph/?q=node/76

MIGRANTE International

International Alliance of Filipino Migrant Organizations

The migration of Filipinos abroad is a product of extreme poverty and joblessness

in the country that is brought about the decrepit social system perpetuated by US
neocolonialism. The deepening economic crisis in the Philippines has simultaneously
aggravated the migration of Filipinos abroad to gargantuan proportion. More than 2,000
migrant Filipinos leave the country each day and approximately one-third of these are
composed of unskilled workers. They can be found in 182 countries worldwide.

Filipinos are driven abroad since the government cannot provide them work. This
is not surprising since the Philippine economy is backward, agrarian, and without basic
 TRENDS, NETWORKS, AND CRITICAL THINKING

industries. Hence, it cannot generate enough employment for Filipinos. Millions of

workers are being thrown out of their regular jobs as foreign and domestic capitalists
resort to contractualization and downsizing so as to maintain and generate more profits.
Thus, Filipinolippines, indeed, is a rich source of cheap labor by developed countries.

Migrant Filipinos contribute a lot to the economy through their remittances. From
1990 to 1995, remittances of migrant Filipinos were registered at US$14.543 billion. In
1999 alone, it registered a high of US$6.9 billion. The government recognizes this
contribution. In fact, they are hailed as "new economic heroes."

Migrant Filipinos are an exploited lot. The Philippine government extracts

exorbitant fees from them as requisite to their deployment abroad. Government rakes in
millions daily in the processing of their papers alone. These include payments for
passports, NBI and medical clearances, administrative fees, forced contributions and a
litany of other expenses.

The abuses and exploitation they experience in their place of work are prevalent.
These range from contract violations, rape, sexual harassment, mysterious deaths,
among others. Yearly, hundreds of thousand of Filipinos are reported to have suffered
various forms of abuse and exploitation in the hands of their employers. Women migrant
workers in particular are most vulnerable to abuses and maltreatment. They are subjected
to sexual and physical abuses, as in the case of domestic helpers, while many become
victims of white slavery.

Nothing can pronounce the exploitation and abuses committed against migrant
Filipinos than those inflicted to Flor Contemplacion and Sarah Balabagan. Their cases
opened the eyes of the entire Filipino people and the international community on the
hapless plight of migrant Filipinos.

The anguish and ordeal of migrant Filipinos continue. The conditions that confront
them necessitate the continued organizing, education and mobilization work among their
ranks in their struggle for their rights and welfare, and for genuine freedom and
democracy.

Source: http://migrante.tripod.com/

Global Connections: ASEAN

There is a strong relationship

among members of the Southeast Asian
nations. They have come up with
collaborate programs promoting one
vision and common directions. It is a
venture as well on how each country will
be assisted by another.
 TRENDS, NETWORKS, AND CRITICAL THINKING

ASEAN 2015

ASEAN means Association of Southeast Asian Nations with ten member countries:
Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao
People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the
Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam calling other member States to come together to ensure that their
young citizens in the classrooms learn about the interconnectedness among cultures,
peoples, economies, governments, and ecosystems, and how these are linked to their
own lives.

Quality education is the key that keeps Southeast Asia at pace with the changing
world while maintaining a stronghold of its regional identity. Ensuring Human
Development; Social Welfare and Protection; Social Justice and Rights; Environmental
Sustainability; Building the Asean Identity; and Narrowing the Development Gap.

Its strategic objective is ensuring the integration of education priorities into

ASEAN’s development agenda and creating a knowledge-based society; achieving
universal awareness of ASEAN to youths through education and activities to build an
ASEAN identity based on friendship and cooperation.

The challenges are quality, access, equity, relevance, and along with it are the following:
 Internationalization of Early Childhood Education in the ASEAN countries
 Strengthening cultural identity through curriculum and instruction
 Developing common standards of quality
 Development of cultural understanding/literacy
 Early Childhood Education as a tool for poverty reduction and development of
human resources
 21st Century Skills
 Functional and Multiple Literacies
 Life Skills
Source: http//thediplomat.com/2015/02/what-is-asean-community-2015-all-about

The Philippines’ Digital Boom: Five Key Trends for 2014

By Will Green

1. Internet access is on the rise—but still has

limited reach
 TRENDS, NETWORKS, AND CRITICAL THINKING

2. Mobile penetration now exceeds 100% -- but

smartphone penetration remains low.

3. Social media usage rates are off the charts

but this does not guarantee conversions.

4. Filipinos are brand-friendly and ready to buy

but this will not last long.

5. Innovative startups show disruptive potential—but this

is no silicon valley.
 TRENDS, NETWORKS, AND CRITICAL THINKING

For further readings please click on the links provided.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-5dXousP_E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAnfj8v5acM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrnK5UQDdO0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rswa_M1xKuo

References:
Mangiduyos, Gladys P. TRENDS, NETWORKS, AND CRITICAL THINKING IN THE
21ST CENTURY. Manila:Rex Bookstore
https://www.gethooked360.com/the-digital-future-of-the-philippines/