Labor group Defend Jobs Philippines on Wednesday slammed the approval of the House of Representatives of House Bill 78 which will amend the Public Service Act and allow 100 percent foreign ownership in power, transport and communications sector.
The House Bill had its third and final reading with a vote of 136-43-1 last Tuesday afternoon.
The group said that HB 78 would only intensify exploitation and the long-drawn violations of workers’ rights in the public service sector.
“HB 78 will only mean cheaper wages, docile labor and slashed benefits for our working people in favor of profits. It will also result to a more difficult set-up for our workers in terms of the level of bargaining, labor flexibilization schemes, job security issues, among many other concerns,” said Thadeus Ifurung, Defend Jobs Philippines spokesperson, in a statement.
The labor group also said that aside from its implication on the labor sector, HB 78 had also impacts and question of constitutionality, concerns on the violations on our national sovereignty and foreign control on Philippine assets and economy.
“Clearly, letting foreigners fully manage and control our domestic services will further cause plunge our economy to unavoidable crisis and will further worsen our backward, agrarian, non-industrial, debt-ridden and foreign-dominated economy,” Ifurung said.