PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Monday he will ratify ILO Convention 151 that will protect the rights of employees to organize.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said government employees will benefit from ILO Convention 151 because it will stop the contractualization of government employees.
Duterte on Monday also vowed to protect the basic rights of Filipino workers as he paid tribute to the Filipino workers here and around the world on Labor Day.
“Workers play a significant role in pushing for the rights to humane conditions at work, basic wages and organized acts including collective bargaining and unionism,” Duterte said in his Labor Day message.
“The government recognizes these basic rights of workers in all industries, and we are committed to protect and defend these rights.”
Duterte said the Labor department had been tasked to ensure that Filipinos would find jobs here and need not leave the country.
“Everyone who contributes labor as part of his commitment to nation-building deserves nothing less than a share of the fruits of his hard work,” he said.
In other developments:
• The biggest labor organization, the Associated Labor Unions, on Monday warned of a possible uprising of the working poor if the government and employers continued to ignore the increasing joblessness, inadequate wages, insufficient social protection benefits and short-term work arrangements.
“We have been witness to a recent series of events where the poorest people were forced to raid rice warehouses, invade government housing units and claim ownership of the land,” group spokesman Alan Tanjusay said.
“We do not condone or tolerate these illegal actions, but we attribute these series of lawlessness as symptoms of an unresponsive government and inhumane employers and capitalists.”
• Protesters and policemen faced off on corner of Kalaw and Bocobo in Manila as labor groups tried to make their way to the United States Embassy along Roxas Boulevard.
The MPD anti-crowd dispersal teams were seen preparing water cannons to block the groups led by the Kilusang Mayo Uno.
The tension only diffused after the protest leaders told their members not to break the line set by the police.
• Thousands of workers staged a protest rally in Metro Manila and other cities on Monday and pushed for the abolition of contractual employment, decent wages and the lowering of the prices of basic commodities.
The labor groups led by Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino slammed the order issued by Bello six weeks ago and described it as a worse version of the previous order under the Aquino administration.
The labor groups also demanded that Department Order 174 be immediately revoked for perpetuating the abusive practice of contractual employment.
