MANILA, Philippines - Despite Malacañang’s disbelief, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said it found "highly credible" the results of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey indicating that joblessness among adult Filipinos may have hit a record high of 34.2 percent in the last three months.
"The country lost a total of $7.615 billion worth of exports from October 2008 to February 2009. At $1: P48, this is equal to P365.52 billion in sales that suddenly vanished," said TUCP secretary-general and former Senator Ernesto Herrera.
"The P365.52 billion is equal to slightly more than one-fourth of this year’s P1.414 trillion national budget. And we lost the sales not in 12 months, but in six months," Herrera pointed out.
"This alone should give us a fair sense as to the severity of the job losses in the export sector as well as other industries providing goods and services to exporters and their workers," added Herrera, former chairman of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development.
Herrera said nobody really wants to talk the economy and jobs down. "Everybody would prefer to talks things up. But the reality is, the world is in a harsh economic downturn not seen since the Great Depression. And there is no escaping this reality," he said.
Still, Herrera said he has high hopes the economy, exporters and employment would be able to recover once the global recession ends. He said the first to mend would be exporters that "over-retrenched" their staff.
"Once foreign orders start trickling in and exporters realize they no longer have the workers required to meet demand, they will start rehiring quickly," he said.
In the meantime, Herrera said TUCP is helping the Department of Labor and Employment carry out "skills retooling and alternative livelihood support programs" for displaced workers as well as new labor force participants.
Last week, the National Statistics Office reported that Philippine exports, led by semiconductors and electronics, crashed by 30.9 percent in March to $2.9 billion compared to the $4.2 billion posted in the same month in 2008.
Prior to this, exports plunged by 39.1 percent in February to $2.504 billion from $4.112 billion a year ago; by 41 percent in January to $2.494 billion from $4.230 billion; by 40.4 percent in December to $2.672 billion from $4.481 billion; by 11.9 percent in November to $3.494 billion from $3.964 billion; and by 14.9 percent in October to $3.967 billion from $4.659 billion.
The First Quarter 2009 SWS survey, fielded over Feb. 20 to 23, found joblessness rising to 34.2 percent or about 14 million Filipino adults, from 27.9 percent or some 11 million in the prior quarter.
Showing posts with label Unemployment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unemployment. Show all posts
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Depressed Wages Result To Over-employment In Philippines
MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 14 Jul) – The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Saturday said depressed wages have resulted in the over-employment of some 7.6 million workers in the country.
The figure is nearly one-fourth of all employed Filipinos, it said. "Wages here are grossly inadequate. This is why a growing number of labor force participants are being driven to seek extra work and additional income," TUCP spokesperson Alex Aguilar said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.
He said workers are being forced to toil longer hours simply because their take home pay is not enough to cover the daily cost of decent living.
Aguilar was reacting to a government report indicating that nearly five of every 20 employed Filipinos were found to be over-employed last year.
The Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES), an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment, prepared the report, he said.
“Collated from the National Statistics Office's quarterly labor force surveys, the BLES report showed that of the 33 million Filipinos on the job, about 23 percent or 7.6 million were over-employed,” he said.
Aguilar described the reported massive over-employment as “a labor market distortion,” caused primarily by low and insufficient wages.
“This is a distortion because if a person is earning enough for an eight-hour job, then he or she would not have to look for additional work that ought to be performed by someone else who is totally jobless or underemployed,” Aguilar said.
The TUCP has a pending petition for a P75-increase in the statutory regional minimum wage for workers in Metro Manila. The regional tripartite wages and productivity board began deliberating on the petition last week.
"We are definitely counting on the wage board to provide instant relief to our workers," Aguilar said.
Employers said an increase in wages would only aggravate unemployment.“That is old hat. Those opposed to giving workers higher wages always try play up and exaggerate the ghost of job losses,” Agular said.
“On the contrary, higher wages will drive up personal consumption expenditure, create new demand for good and services, and thus prop up domestic industries and employment,” he said.
The BLES report indicated that more than half of all over-employed Filipinos, or about 4.1 million, were men.
The report also showed that the bulk of the over-employed -- 58.5 percent or 4.4 million -- worked for extra income. About 40 percent or three million gave "job requirement" as another reason for working excessively.
The figure is nearly one-fourth of all employed Filipinos, it said. "Wages here are grossly inadequate. This is why a growing number of labor force participants are being driven to seek extra work and additional income," TUCP spokesperson Alex Aguilar said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.
He said workers are being forced to toil longer hours simply because their take home pay is not enough to cover the daily cost of decent living.
Aguilar was reacting to a government report indicating that nearly five of every 20 employed Filipinos were found to be over-employed last year.
The Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES), an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment, prepared the report, he said.
“Collated from the National Statistics Office's quarterly labor force surveys, the BLES report showed that of the 33 million Filipinos on the job, about 23 percent or 7.6 million were over-employed,” he said.
Aguilar described the reported massive over-employment as “a labor market distortion,” caused primarily by low and insufficient wages.
“This is a distortion because if a person is earning enough for an eight-hour job, then he or she would not have to look for additional work that ought to be performed by someone else who is totally jobless or underemployed,” Aguilar said.
The TUCP has a pending petition for a P75-increase in the statutory regional minimum wage for workers in Metro Manila. The regional tripartite wages and productivity board began deliberating on the petition last week.
"We are definitely counting on the wage board to provide instant relief to our workers," Aguilar said.
Employers said an increase in wages would only aggravate unemployment.“That is old hat. Those opposed to giving workers higher wages always try play up and exaggerate the ghost of job losses,” Agular said.
“On the contrary, higher wages will drive up personal consumption expenditure, create new demand for good and services, and thus prop up domestic industries and employment,” he said.
The BLES report indicated that more than half of all over-employed Filipinos, or about 4.1 million, were men.
The report also showed that the bulk of the over-employed -- 58.5 percent or 4.4 million -- worked for extra income. About 40 percent or three million gave "job requirement" as another reason for working excessively.
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