Proposed labor agenda for the new DOLE Secretary - Part 1

The reason why the post of Labor Secretary was the last that was filled up is because it is not easy to choose a really qualified one, without any political baggage or conflict of interest. There were many who moved heaven and earth to get appointed but the President exercised extraordinary diligence in making the final choice. DOLE has a lot of publics, whose interests and agenda do collide against each other.

There are management lawyers who are not acceptable to the trade unions. There are good materials who supported other Presidential candidates or were too identified with other partisan groups. There were those pushed by the recruitment agencies, the labor unions, the academe, and the employers' groups. But they all carry political baggages that might hurt the President or create conflicts within the team. The DOLE portfolio is a hard nut to crack. The President found it easier to fill up the posts in DFA, DND, Dep Ed and Finance.

At any rate, we have the honor to submit to the new DOLE chief a package of proposals that are put together with the end in view of helping formulate a Labor Agenda for the next six years, along the path prescribed by the Labor Code, the Migrant Workers Act, and other Social Legislations that were put in place, pursuant to the constitutional mandate " To establish a just and humane society" and "To afford full protection to labor."

Focus on skilled workers.

First of all, we strongly propose that the DOLE'S Overseas Employment Program should focus only on the high-end jobs, the ones with lesser risks and higher income. The unskilled and semi-skilled workers should not be allowed to leave the country. They must be trained either for employment or entrepreneurship.

I do believe that the Police Power of the State is strong enough as to empower the government to save the workers from their own naivete, recklessness and imprudence in accepting the Five Ds (Dirty, Difficult, Dangerous, Deceptive and Degrading) jobs abroad.

We should stop, or at least, limit, the sending of Domestic Helpers abroad, especially to countries that do not show enough respect for our women's rights and human dignity. We should blacklist labor-receiving countries that have rampant cases of rape, maltreatment, persecution and inhuman treatment of our women workers. We should arrest, prosecute, and jail illegal recruiters and traffickers, who, with shameless impunity, are raking in millions of dollars in profit, at the expense of the tears, blood, sweat, and even lives and dignity of our poor workers.