TUCP hail World Bank for a paradigm shift on regular jobs and minimum wage

By TUCP-Nagkaisa
October 3, 2015

QUEZON CITY – Labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa) lauded the World Bank (WB) for its new paradigm shift in promoting regular jobs and minimum wage as part of their twin approach in ending extreme poverty by 2030 and in pushing shared prosperity among the poor of developing countries.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim in his speech at the United States Institute of Peace gathering in Washington, D.C., on October 1 the other day, said that a bank study among Latin American countries showed that “enforcement of labor contracts and a minimum wage” is one of the key elements to a genuine inclusive growth.

Other elements include “greater access to schools, progressive educational spending that favors the poor, pensions, and conditional cash transfers.”

“This study is contrary to and a complete turnaround from previous prescription of the bank that always promote for flexibilization of labor markets. This is now a watershed for working people and we commend the bank for making the right paradigm switch,” said Louie Corral, executive director of TUCP-Nagkaisa and the group’s civil society representative to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Corral contends that flexibilization of labor in the Philippines started after a major amendment in the Labor Code through Republic Act 6715 also known as the “Herrera Law” became effective on March 1989. The amendment spawned new varieties of flexible work arrangements including what is now known as contractual work or “endo” (end of contract), job orders, and “555” (5-month contract) schemes.

“We dare the World Bank to implement this new paradigm in their engagement policy with developing countries like the Philippines whose government is abandoning its responsibilities to provide social protection and quality basic services to people,” said Gerard Seno, executive vice president of the country’s largest confederation of unions Associated Labor Unions (ALU).

Government’s Labor Force Survey (LFS) released by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in July 2015 showed 38.5 million Filipinos are employed. However, Corral said, half of which are contractuals, mostly in the agriculture and services sector.