Issues confronting the labor sector come in various forms such as substandard wages, limited job prospects, contractualizations, labor disruptions, and even the much-talked-about unmitigated migration of workers to other countries.
Why do we find it very difficult to address these issues once and for all?
I would like to venture that one of the reasons behind this could be the acculturation that we went through with the various colonizers that somehow resulted in our confused sense of values and nationalism. In a nutshell, Filipinos have been used to such norms as “bahala na/pwede na” as far as our work is concerned; “que sera, sera” as far as our plan is concerned; our craving to live or work in the country of “milk and honey,” etc.
As a country that is trying to overcome poverty and attain progress, it is believed that education could be a probable solution in this regard. Unfortunately, our school curriculum is geared more toward graduates seeking employment (which has become very elusive nowadays) rather than skills development and entrepreneurship. This phenomenon further exacerbates the problems confronting the labor sector.
Here comes the bone of contention where workers are put into the limelight regarding issues of low wages, scarcity of jobs, contractualizations, disruptions of industrial peace, incessant labor migration, diaspora, etc. which we cannot ignore but must confront head-on.
All of these aforesaid issues cannot be singly managed, solved, or addressed by any of the aforesaid parties. The concept of tripartism is what is needed to address these long-standing issues and concerns.
Since the government can only do so much in terms of the current regional tripartite wage determination, the company can very well complement, supplement, or augment the gaps in this regard. Workers and employees should also cooperate and do their share in addressing most of the aforesaid problems.
It is most opportune for all these parties to explore, design, and operationalize “best practices” and “innovative approaches” that have been adopted and are being explored by almost all productive, profitable, viable, and surviving companies in our country and around the world, to wit:
• introduction of profit sharing where all workers are considered “co-owners” of the company where they receive dividends
• institutionalization of productivity and performance-based incentives where workers are gauged on their contribution to the company
• employee suggestion programs where workers are encouraged to propose new approaches to operations resulting in more efficiency and savings
• introduction of life-work-blend and work-from-home schemes
• actualization of team work on top of individual performances
• introduction of menu-type for administering fringe benefits to workers
These and many other related programs generated through labor-management initiatives could very well complement the current limited traditional approaches being offered by the government toward the improvement of the welfare of our workers.
Said strategies could also arrest the continuing migration of workers abroad to seek better career and life opportunities.
Therefore, it can be said that the fruition of these programs in solving the problems confronting the labor sector via tripartism as a whole could very well drive the engines of growth and progress of our economy and competitiveness in the long run.
EMILIANO MANAHAN JR.
Advocate and Author