The President's social agenda for labor

At the end of the day, all Presidents shall be judged by history and our people on how their performance created a positive impact on the lives of the workingmen. Eight days from today, President Benigno  C. Aquino III will make his first SONA (State of the Nation Address), and the working class will certainly expect a report on job creation, the employment situation, the present levels of real wages across the country’s regions, the state of industrial peace, the real picture on workers’ protection and social justice, and the situations currently being faced by our overseas contract workers, as well as the scenarios for the future. It is thus imperative that our people should know the President’s  16-point social agenda,  dubbed as PNoy’s SOCIAL CONTRACTwith the Filipinos.

 Out of the 16, we have identified four items  that have direct bearing with the workers, both local and overseas.  First, the President promised  that his government shall prioritize job creation that empowers people and provides them with opportunities to rise above poverty, instead of conjuring labor statistics to mislead the people on our labor markets situation. Second, to help workers enhance their employability index,  PNoy promised to make education the government’s central strategy for investing in our people, reducing poverty  and building national competitiveness. Third, from a government where justice could be bought and connections could influence the outcome of cases, PNoy promised a truly impartial justice system that shall deliver equal justice to both the poor and the rich. Corollary to this, he committed government policies that cannot be dictated by well-connected private interests because his leadership shall execute all laws of the land with impartiality and decisiveness.

 Fourth, Pres. Noy promised that, from a government that treats its people as an export commodity and merely a means to earn foreign exchange, disregarding the total cost of labor migration to the Filipino families, this government commits to create jobs in the domestic labor markets. This promise is anchored on the goal that working abroad would become an option of choice and not a matter of necessity. With a caveat that should the Filipinos still opt for jobs abroad, their welfare and protection shall continue to be the government’s top priority. This is a very important component, considering that we have about ten million migrant workers deployed in more than 200 countries all over the world, remitting more than US$20 billion annually.

 The matter of job creation hinges on this administration’s ability to generate capital from both domestic and foreign investors, its competence and will to preserve existing jobs, by maintaining  a socio-economic equilibrium, that delicate balance among the various players in the economic dynamics of the nation, so as capital would be motivated to grow, without sacrificing the rights of labor. Education is a long-range intervention that may not bear immediate fruits within his term up to 2016, but if implemented well, it shall go a long way to create real global competitiveness of our people. The third is hard nut to crack if we consider a lot of reports about alleged corruptions in the different levels of decision making and adjudication of labor and industiral disputes.

But of all the four, it is the last that is most apropos, considering the labor market developments in  Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries, our traditional labor-receiving economies. The current Saudization of the labor demand and supply is expected to be replicated in other Arab countries, which, combined, are places  of work of easily 3 million OFWs. This government is currently shifting its policy from foreign jobs  to domestic labor markets. This is a major, major challenge to Sec. Linda Baldoz because she would be doing the opposite of what her predecessors pursued, including secretaries Blas F. Ople, Frank M. Drilon, Nieves Confesor,  Ruben Torres, Benny Laguesma, Pat Sto. Tomas, Art Brion and Nitoy Roque. At the end of the day, the judgment would be of President Noynoy. This government can swim or sink based on these four strategic imperatives. Let us see how the President shall report on these on July 25. The expectations run high. Let us all cross our fingers and wish him all the best. Much of the workers’ future depends on his success or failure. Bason unta.