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This paper for a National Conference on "Jobs, Justice and Development
in the International Economy" provides the background for the formulation
of action programs to address labor, equity and social protection in these
times of globalization and international competition. An analysis of pains
and gains in development indicates the urgency of income and asset
"redistribution", tax reforms, production and price management, and
focused structural adjustments.
The study analyses the National Health Care Plan. It proposes
alternative and complementary agenda, including addressing basic needs,
health financing strategies, risk sharing and control.
The study analyzes the assumptions, structure, and content of the
national budget from the view of the labor sector. Labor is concerned
about the allocation of scarce resources towards social services and
general public services which are gradually losing out funding for
economic services, and pushes for more resources for housing, social
security, health and education.
The study looks at the costs and benefits of EPZs from the view of the
economy, the enterprises and the workers. It lists 10 issues on EPZ
viability and competitiveness, capacities of enterprises and skills of
workers, and empowerment of workers. Agendas for advocacy, government
agencies and for workers are outlined.
The study sets out standards for terms and conditions of work,
including welfare provisions, in a sample of nine CBAs in the public
sector. The study provides a guide for unions bargaining with government
agencies.
An initial foray into labor market forecasting, the study interprets
available inputs from economic forecasts in terms of three labor market
variables: demand for labor, unemployment rate and living wages (for 3
regions). The approach highlights the importance of the informal sector,
which accounts for almost 55% of total employment. It lends credence to
the "jobless growth" phenomenon and projects that unemployment will stay
around 10% despite 2.5% and 4% and growth for GDP in 1994 and 1995. A list
of advocacy issues is suggested for TUCP.
A study of Metro Manila minimum wage earners and their families--how
they adjust to their "income blanket." The study defines the typical
breakfast options among workers, revamping some traditional concepts of
what may be considered "wage goods." For example, the staple breakfast
item is no longer pan de sal but noodles! The study also peeks into their
housing, entertainment and extra income generating choices.
The paper is a critique of the Medium Term Plan which is deemed
outdated, unimaginative and confused. One basic problem is that the Plan
is not sure what is vision, what is objective and what is strategy. The
plan fails to focus on employment and labor issues. It does not assume any
figures on wages; and fails to enunciate clear strategies to create
employment. It remains silent also on how to manage unemployment.
Labor-centered issues are brought to the fore, and suggestions on how to
embellish the Plan with more substance are forwarded.
This study covers the difficult no-growth decade of the 1980s, and
documents how the industrial sector remains "frozen" in terms of structure
and productivity. The most productive industries have been those that have
achieved some capital deepening (higher fixed assets per worker), as well
as those that have exhibited relatively higher employee earnings. Two
industries that have higher employment elasticities have also been wanting
on both counts however: garments manufacturing and metal fabrication
industries. The study provides a quick acquaintance with manufacturing
performance in the distracted quest for Philippine industrialization.
What's productivity without electricity? This is a compact study about
urgent infrastructure development, and the significant impact of
"powerlessness" on employment and investments.
In an environment where more than 80% of over 20,000 workers are young
women, there are unique health and safety issues that need to be
addressed. The lack of toilet facilities and low hygiene consciousness are
found to be major problems. Medical professionals are lacking, and the
image of "Dr. Paracetamol" is prominent. The concerns over safety against
dust, chemicals and heat is also found to be low. Programs for trade
union-led action are suggested.
As the country's poorest region, this typhoon entry point was ravaged
by flooding (Ormoc City) in 1991 killing over 6,000 people. It is the
region with the highest out migration, and workers in its sugar
plantations are known to receive only a third of the statutory wage. The
study establishes the appropriate living wage in Tacloban and Ormoc cities
to be P196.38 per day or 83% higher than the prevailing minimum wage. The
study evaluates the rehabilitation work in Ormoc, and endorses the low-key
but highly impressive housing reconstruction that has taken place. The
study proposes long-term economic development and employment strategies
for the region.
A socio-economic study of the region that continues to be ravaged by
after-effects of the Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991, this contains major
proposals for regional development from the workers' standpoint. While the
chief concern is that of employment creation, the living wage cannot be
neglected. Reconstruction work must consider actual worker needs, and
should explore more light processing activities.
A groundbreaking study intended to dimension the surge of temporary
contractual employment, the research determined the average rate of
contractual employment to be a little over 40% in 1991. The study involved
extensive sampling across key sectors. It studies and recommends
strategies to cope with the phenomenon, from the trade union standpoint.
Above all, it proposes that laws should recognize the phenomenon, and not
expect reality to adjust to the laws.
The study diagnoses the causes, duration, dimensions and management
problems pertaining to unemployment at three levels: personal, sectoral
and . It proposes an "unemployment management system" involving private
and public institutions. It also suggests that the minimum wage levels be
adjusted in order to motivate workers to join the labor market, since the
"benefits" that are provided the unemployed by informal support systems
outweigh financial incentives from formal employment at the margin.
A guidebook for teaching Labor Issues and Economic Policy, it contains
short briefing materials on the following topics:
Sectoral development, Employment and Investments
Social Development and Poverty Attack
Equity, Incomes and Taxation
Education and Human Resources Development
Infrastructure and Public Services
The first budget-survey generated study on living wages at the regional
level, this also proposes the "building blocks" approach to determining
living wages. These blocks include: Basic Food Requirements, Basic Housing
Provisions, Cultural Additives, Work-Determined Expenses and
Stage-in-Family-Development-Specific Expenses. It also proposes the
Development-Specific Expenses. It also proposes the consideration of
Stage-in-Family Development as an important variable in minimum wage
determination.
This study abolishes the common hackneyed argument that increasing
wages would fuel runaway inflation and increase unemployment. It
determines a viable econometric relationship between the major
determinants of CPI levels. For every 1% increase in CPI, the major
determinants are the foreign exchange rate and the level of money supply.
The influence of wages is generally puny. There is no statistical basis
for claiming that minimum wage increases lead to higher unemployment.
In an economy where interest rates become overheated cyclically, it is
important to determine the causes of this phenomenon, as well as
anticipate their magnitudes in the future. The study presents adequate
evidence why the public sector must keep itself committed to more prudent
fiscal guidelines. The major determinants of interest rates are found to
be: Gross International Reserves, CPI and Government Current Expenditures.
The study aims to evaluate coping mechanisms by enterprises in
adjusting to structural change, their impact on workers, and on the
employment policy environment. The study looks at two cases: a wood
enterprise threatened with logging phase out, a rubber plantation subject
to agrarian reform. Among the key themes: workers as the dispensable
factor, workers as underprotected assets, workers contribute to solutions,
strategic responses rather than short term-palliatives are appropriate.
Only 30% own land or housing. Up to 60% of Metro Manilans are
considered "squatters." Homeless workers have long clamored for attention,
but have not been heard. What are the appropriate approaches to workers
housing? How can housing be made more affordable? What types of innovative
financing are needed? What can trade unions do? These questions are
pursued in his study.
The state of health services has been described as "alarming." The cost
of health services is skyrocketing, and more workers are seeking
extraordinary and cheaper alternatives to modern health care. What can
trade unions do? What types of group insurance should be made available?
What are the prospects for health care?
Philippine education has two major problems: financial and
non-financial. There is a basic problem with the objective of the entire
system: literacy should give way to higher intelligence. Curricula,
teacher qualifications, textbooks and methodologies should be revised,
with scientific and technical education as the focus of urgent action. The
cost of education has become more forbidding to workers. The government
budget for Education has dipped from 24% of total in 1970 to 12% in recent
years. The public school system has deteriorated. Pre-school education is
suggested as a major avenue for worker action, together with policy action
on college education accessibility.
The plantation sector in the country has been under a cloud of
recession since the 1980s. Coconut (1.1 million) and sugar (0.5 million)
industry workers have been significantly affected by low world prices for
coconut oil and the uncompetitive-low-productivity high-price situation in
sugar. Rubber plantation and pineapple plantation workers have also
experienced retrenchments. Only the banana industry has been relatively
stable. The study recommends the development of alternative agricultural
crops on a wider scale, with downstream processing industries in key
regions of the country. A volume of project feasibility studies is
included.
A three-part study looks into information on homeworkers, alternative
models of assistance, alternative assistance mechanisms , needs and
receptiveness to assistance modes, and designs a program approach, and
components and methodologies. It identifies a general assistance
structure, community-wide assistance, industry-specific assistance,
contractor/exporter/producer assistance, and family-based organizational
assistance.
The transport problem in Metro Manila is huge. The fixed infrastructure
are limited; the moving equipment is growing rapidly. There is decreasing
service capability. The market is expanding fast: workers and other
commuters, organized group travellers, vehicle owners and car riders, and
cargo movers. The solution must be market-oriented: matching modes with
needs. The options for worker interventions in their own behalf are
outlined.
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