A labor group has asked the Department of Labor and Employment to include labor representatives monitoring Chinese establishments in Boracay if these establishments are hiring Filipino workers, amid reports that hundreds of foreigners are now working in Boracay islands.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III admitted that it is difficult to monitor establishments as the agency lacks labor inspectors.
On the other hand, the Partido Manggagawa asked the Labor chief for the inclusion of labor representatives in monitoring establishments in the country’s premier tourist resort destination, saying labor groups have volunteered to check and verify if these establishments are prioritizing foreign workers instead of Filipinos.
He said that some 30,000 workers were displaced by President Rodrigo Duterte’s closure of Boracay last year and most of them have not found employment again in the island.
“We are concerned about reports that the Chinese-owned establishments have been exclusively hiring Chinese nationals as cashiers, cooks, waitresses, laborers and drivers. This is a violation of our labor regulations as these are jobs that can be done by Filipinos,” he said.