No ban on work stoppage with passage of anti-terror bill — DOLE

Saying that workers’ rights are amply protected by the Constitution, the Department of Labor and Employment assured organized labor yesterday they have nothing to worry about the passage of the proposed anti-terror bill.

"I don’t think their right to organize and initiate work stoppages due to labor disputes, which is guaranteed under the Constitution, can be abrogated by filing another law," Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said.

She issued the statement after the moderate Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) expressed deep concern over the passage of the anti-terror bill.

While the group fully supports the government’s campaign against terrorism, the TUCP said it fears that certain provisions of the anti-terror bill would restrict workers from mounting strikes.

Under the proposed measure, the TUCP said work stoppages that disrupt the operations of public facilities could be considered an act of terrorism.

But Sto. Tomas said the Constitution upholds the workers’ right to strike. "Workers cannot be prevented from launching a strike, that is their right," she said.

Sto. Tomas also reported that more and more educated and highly skilled Filipinos are leaving the country for jobs abroad.

She cited data from the Institute for Public Policy Research, which showed that 88 percent of Filipino immigrants have at least a high school education and 40 percent were college graduates.

"Global migration is increasingly becoming a movement of educated (Filipinos) with their families, which means that initially the sending countries loses a considerable part of its vocational elite," Sto. Tomas said.

She said the ongoing migration of the better-educated may cause a brain drain in some countries, but not in the Philippines.

"We have a very big number of high school and college graduates so there would always be a surplus, even when we continue to deploy educated and highly skilled Filipinos abroad, unlike in other countries," Sto. Tomas said.

However, she stressed the importance of managing migration in order to provide proper protection for Filipino migrants.

Sto. Tomas said the Philippine government’s effort to manage overseas deployment covers the regulation, protection and reintegration of workers.

The management of overseas deployment requires P2 billion annually, with half of the amount coming from the national government and the rest from the insurance paid by workers or their employers.

"These measures help ensure that workers get the best possible benefits from their overseas work and are able to maximize the positive effects of their work in another country," Sto. Tomas said.

It has been estimated that some eight million Filipinos or about 10 percent of the total population are now living overseas.

The Philippines is no longer just exporting cheap domestic labor like housemaids, but is losing its educated elite such as teachers, doctors, nurses and engineers.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jose Brillantes earlier said the "inflow of remittances (from workers abroad) has kept the economy afloat." He said remittances last year rose by some 11.8 percent to a record $8.5 billion.

Remittances of Filipinos working overseas are expected to hit $10 billion this year, according to government estimates.

While the export of labor has now become a permanent fixture in government planning, it has not been without its downside.

A United Nations Children’s Fund report said recently that between three and eight million children are left behind by Filipinos working overseas. It said entire family units are being broken up as a result.