Halos dalawang taon na ang nakararaan mula nang pumukaw ng atensyon ang sektor ng paggawa. Ito ay nang i-veto ni Pangulong Duterte ang Security of Tenure Act na ipinasa ng Kongreso bilang sagot sa panawagan na wakasan ang “abusadong” labor-only contracting—mas kilala bilang endo—na matinding usapin noong 2016 presidential election campaign.
Pinakinggan ng pamahalaan ang apela ng business sektor sa posibleng masamang epekto ng mungkahing batas, na palagay nila, ay hahadlang sa foreign investments at magbabalewala sa patuloy na matatag na paglago ng ekonomiya na naging daan upang matapos ang investment grade ratings sa global finance.
Ngunit nagdulot ng matinding pinsala ang COVID-19 sa ekonomiya ng bansa; ang sektor ng paggawa ang tumanggap ng pinakamalaking danyos. Ayon sa ulat kamakailan ng International Labor Organization (ILO):
“One quarter of total employment in the Philippines is likely to be disrupted by the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and labor market, either through decreased earnings and working hours or complete job loss. This translates to about 10.9 million workers. Women account for 38 per cent of the jobs at risk of COVID-19 disruption.”
Sa pagtuon sa direktang epekto ng national heath emergency, binanggit ang “digital disruption” bilang salik na nakaapekto sa “estimated 7.2 million workers (who) are exposed to a double tiered risk of job disruption due to digitalization and COVID-19.”
Ipinaliwanag ng ILO ang dalawang termino, “collapsing” occupations “facing high risk of destructive digitalization and low potential for transformative digitalization, while ‘machine terrain’ occupations refer to occupations facing high risk of destructive digitalization and high potential for transformative digitalization.Those affected by the double whammy are workers in accommodationand food services and in arts, entertainment and recreation industries such as waiters, cooks, kitchen helpers, food service counter attendants and fast food preparers.”
Sa ikatlong prisensiya: “The negative labor market impact of the pandemic is more pronounced among vulnerable and part-time workers, young people, overseas Filipino workers, women, and healthcare and medical workers.”
Sa pahayag nitong Araw ng Paggawa (Labor Day), ipinanawagan ng Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF), isang public advocacy organization na binubuo ng mga dating senior government officials, academicians at lider sa sektor ng negosyo, ang pagbuo ng “a tripartite conference among government, the private business sector, and labor groups to come out with a whole of society solution to the massive unemployment problem caused by the pandemic.”
Pangunahing layunin nito na silipin ang “outdated” labor laws ng bansa – ang kasalukuyang Labor Code na pinagtibay noong1974 – na humahadlang sa paglago ng
labor-intensive industries at bumabalakid sa pag-abot ng mas mataas na employment growth rates.Binigyan-diin nila ang kahalagahan ng paglikha ng “an environment conducive to job generation while simultaneously protecting the rights of workers to decent livelihood.”
Ang ganitong lapit ay maituturing na mahalaga sa pagtugon sa usapin ng employment na apektado ng pandemya gayundin sa mga banta na dala ng nalalapit na Fourth Industrial Revolution.Ang pagbuo ng bagong social contract na bumabalanse sa interes ng manggagawa at capital ay mapakikinabangan ng bansa.
