Ten things that they should stop doing to labor

If this administration is serious in promoting social justice and in protecting labor, which are Constitutional mandates, then it should look into these ten things that are currently creating more problems, instead of providing solutions. First, the government should stop marketing our people for deployment to other countries, instead of laying the basis for job creation in the domestic labor market. Today, government agencies, while projecting the politically correct public policy of giving choices to our labor sector, are by acts, pushing our workers to foreign job market. They should stop walking their talk.

Second, the government should stop tolerating the education sector, especially the diploma mills, from mindlessly offering courses that are irrelevant to the socio-economic needs of our country. Government should stop being non-committal to the lack of congruence between the output of the academe and the needs of the industries. Third, the rampant illegal recruitment and trafficking of workers should be stopped, and ample protection should be provided, especially to the most vulnerable sectors of the unskilled workers, who are being fed into the dirty, difficult, dangerous, degrading and deceptive jobs. Government should stop closing its eyes while recruiters and traffickers are making millions out of deployments that violate the human dignity of our working class.

Fourth, the blatant labor-only contracting should be stopped, especially those that exploit our young men and women, with particular frequency in huge malls and supermarts, where saleswomen, merchandizers and promodizers are being used and abused as cheap labor. These poor workers are being made to push for products that are being produced by multinationals that pretend to have social responsibility only as PR gimmicks, while paying pittance to laborers who are denied security of tenure, humane conditions of work and self-organization. Fourth, government should stop sweatshops and working places from exposing workers to unhealthy and unsafe working conditions.

Fifth, there should be decisive government actions against unfair labor practices committed by capitalists that mince no words in declaring their anti-labor and anti-union policies and decisions.  Sixth, the trade unions should not be controlled by family empires and that union leadership should not be monopolized by shameless people who make their living, being perpetual federation Presidents who bequeath union leadership as if they are managing family corporations. Seventh, union-raiding and useless inter-union disputes should be stopped and government should not tolerate union leaders who manipulate union funds and union politics.

Eighth, Some decisive leadership actions should be done against Labor Arbiters and Commissioners who take years before deciding cases, while illegally dismissed workers lose hope and lose trust in and respect for the government.

Ninth, the workers should be protected not only from cruel and dishonest employers, but also from unscrupulous union leaders who make money and use the union as springboard for politics. Tenth, politicians should stop using the unions and the workers as pawns in their scheming covetousness. Labor should start refusing to be used and abused by anyone anytime. There are no tyrants when there are no slaves.