By Leilani S. Junio
Job applicants wait in line outside a shopping mall in Manila, Tuesday. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) warned companies of possible closure or cancellation of their license to operate if they fail to address labor contractualization or end-of-contract policies in their work force..(MNS photo)
MANILA, Oct. 5 (PNA) – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on Wednesday that job creation is still one of the priorities of the department under the Duterte administration.
“What I can tell you is that in the Department of Labor, we have generated new employment opportunities…Nag- increase ng mga 12 percent. It is an increase. Malaki na iyon,” said DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III in a weekly media forum in Manila.
Secretary Bello said that aside from creation of additional jobs, the DOLE is also concerned with addressing the problem of illegal contractualization work schemes and increasing the minimum wage of workers in response to the claim of the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) that the government has not been putting focus on job creation.
Bello said that the 12 percent increase in employment since the Duterte administration took over almost 100 days ago was proof of the government’s accomplishments in the labor front.
On Tuesday, ECOP Chair Emeritus Donald Dee assailed the DOLE for being more concerned in advancing their personal “philosophical” advocacies than creating jobs for Filipinos.
In particular, Dee pointed at the DOLE’s push for the proposed PHP125 daily wage hike across-the-board, which is already being deliberated upon by all Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs).
“Anyway, I could agree with the stand of ECOP na dapat ang priority natin is job creation. So hindi naman namin sinasabi na hindi priority ang job creation when we consider the salary adjustment. We are also looking into job creation and placement,” Bello said.
According to Bello, the PHP125 daily wage hike across-the-board is an initiative of DOLE Undersecretary Joel Maglunsod in his personal capacity.
“That proposed across-the-board wage increase of PHP125 ay personal niya (Maglunsod). That is not the position of DOLE. It is not the position of the President,” the Labor chief said.
He, however, stressed that the DOLE, as a whole, is similarly interested in increasing the salaries of workers alongside the creation of job opportunities.
“But this has to go through a long process. We have to consult all the stakeholders,” he added.