ASEAN integration impact is bane or boon for workers, TUCP says

By TUCP
January 10, 2016

QUEZON CITY – The movement of capital, skills and professions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) integration which began last week is both an opportunity and misery for workers in the region, said the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa.

Positive and Negative Impact of Integration

“The integration will further stimulate jobless growth, race to the bottom phenomenon and promote other forms of precarious work conditions including lowered standard in occupational safety and health particularly if labor laws enforcement is weak and regulatory institutions are irrelevant,” said TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay.

However, if the Philippine’s institutions law enforcement are relevant, the integration will prove to be potential for workers.

“On the other hand, we can expect a wider job market for Filipino workers who are highly sought after because of their reputation for excellent craftsmanship. Thus, we see a rise in remittances and the spike of job-creating allied services which are additional perk to the economy,” Tanjusay said.

But the social cost of outward migration would have further adverse impact on family ties and compound the domestic “brain drain” conundrum.

Jobless Growth and Race to the Bottom

Jobless growth is the growing of wealth and enhancing of economy but unemployment, underemployment and poverty is also growing alongside. With the integration, employers will have more leeway to pursue leaner and meaner operations, outsource jobs within and across borders and relocate production in the cheapest location.

Race to the bottom, meanwhile, is a situation in which companies and governments try to compete with each other by cutting wages and living standards for workers.

Unemployment Impact of Integration

In the Philippines, an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 sugar workers were already in the process of losing their jobs with the reduction of sugar tariff to 5%. This is exacerbated by the inability of the sugar mills to modernize and compete with other ASEAN economies.

The next segment of workers to who might their lose jobs are those in the banking and construction sectors.

“We also fear that the integration will also encourage widespread contractualization, non-regularization of jobs, and prevalence of many other forms of precarious work arrangements that require proactive regulatory institutions,” Tanjusay said.

Poor and Ageing Infrastructure

However, the country’s dilapidated infrastructures, the ageing air and seaport logistics system, the high cost of doing business, and the high cost of electricity, unreliable mass transport system, the routine monstrous traffic congestion, and the turtle-paced government response to modernize these remains to be the obstacles to investments, Tanjusay said.

“We hope that there would be transfer of knowledge and technology when professionals practice in the Philippines and vice versa which we hope would redound to a lowered cost but efficient service,” he added.

Alien Employment Permit and Special Work Permit

With the integration, Tanjusay stressed that the country’s Alien Employment Permit issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Work Visa and the Special Work Permit (SWP) issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) should be reviewed.

Because of these double functions and lack of coordination between these two agencies, work permits are rife with graft and corruption resulting to lack of protection for foreign workers working in the country.

“There has been so many government initiated tripartite discussions in the past. We recommend that a single government oversight unit that grant, supervise and manage these work permits for practical purposes,” Tanjusay said.

Enhanced Vigilance of Labor Groups

Due to many variables at play in the process of integration, labor groups will be more vigilant to ensure government is doing its rightful job of enforcing labor laws and that employers are responsible in doing business.