Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Philippines (Ratification: 1976)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. Employment trends. The Committee notes the policies designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment adopted by the Government. The Government indicates that the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017–2022 has as a primary goal the laying down of the foundations for inclusive growth, a high trust and resilient society, and a globally competitive global knowledge economy. The Government also indicates that it adopted the Philippine Decent Work Country Programme for 2020-2024, which focuses on three priorities: (i) productive, remunerative, freely chosen, green and sustainable work and employment; (ii) improved labour market governance, which ensures respect for all rights at work, including fundamental principles, and rights at work, international labour standards and human rights; and (iii) equitable social protection that is available and accessible to all. The Government adds that the direction of job creation and decent work is expected to be enhanced through the formulation of the new PDP for 2023–28. In addition, the Government indicates that the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) has announced plans to adopt a new national labour and employment plan, using the 2020–24 Decent Work Country Programme as a springboard document. The Government refers to the different legislation and administrative measures, including: (i) the Labour Code, Book I (Pre-employment), which incorporates the principles of Article I of the Convention and regulates the recruitment and placement of workers, and are implemented by DOLE through Department Order No. 216, series of 2020 (Rules and Regulations Governing Recruitment and Placement of Industry Workers by Private Recruitment Agencies for Local Employment), and through Department Order No. 217, series of 2020 (Rules and Regulations Governing Recruitment and Placement of Domestic Workers by Private Employment Agencies for Local Employment); (ii) Republic Act No. 10869 (2016), institutionalising the JobStart program to provide job search assistance, training and placement for the unemployed, especially young jobseekers and implemented by DOLE through Department Order No. 179, series of 2017; and (iii) Republic Act No. 8,981, or the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Modernization Act of 2000, which regulates the exercise of the professions through licensure examination and development and implementation of professional standards of service and practice that are internationally recognised. The Government further indicates that the 2023–28 PDP eight-point socio-economic agenda includes the following: (a) protect purchasing power and mitigate socioeconomic scarring by ensuring food security, reducing transport and logistics costs, and reducing energy costs to families; (b) reduce vulnerability and mitigate scarring from the COVID-19 pandemic by tackling health, strengthening social protections, and addressing learning losses; (c) create more jobs by promoting trade and investments, improving infrastructure, and achieving energy security; (d) create quality jobs by increasing employability, encouraging research and development and innovation, enhancing digital economy; (e) create green jobs by pursuing green economy and establishing liveable and sustainable communities. Moreover, the Committee notes the key labour market trends presented by the Government. The Government indicates that as of June 2022, the total working age population was estimated at 76.540 million and of this, 46.59 million were employed. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in June 2022 was higher among men (76.3 per cent) than women (53.2 per cent) and the employment rate for men was 94.6 per cent compared to 93.1 per cent for women. The Youth LFPR in June 2022 was at 35.9 per cent, employment at 88.2 per cent and underemployment at 11.80 per cent. The Committee notes that the April 2023 World Bank Poverty & Equity Brief on Philippines highlights the continuous recovery in the labour market from the pandemic and that the unemployment rate dropped by 1.8 percentage points from 6.0 to 4.2 in November 2022 compared to June 2022, which was coupled with an increase in labour force participation and a reduction in underemployment, which dropped 14 percentage points between November 2021 and 2022. The Committee takes due note of the comprehensive information provided by the Government which demonstrates the existence of an integrated policy vision to build strong employment policies and guide the country towards sustainable social and economic development. By aligning employment policy goals with those of other major national strategies, integrated policies help optimize the use of resources, reducing duplication and ensuring that efforts are complementary and enhancing the synergy and effectiveness of interventions. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact and effectiveness of its employment policy measures in terms of productive job creation. It also requests the Government to include information on the progress made concerning implementing programmes designed to generate employment as well as in tackling high rates of unemployment and underemployment, vulnerable employment, in-work poverty related to low earning capacity and limited access to regular, productive jobs.

Labour market services. The Government indicates the DOLE is continuously improving the country’s official job-matching portal (www.philjobnet.gov.ph) to match labour supply and demand. DOLE also maintains the PESO Employment Information System (PEIS), used in localities to facilitate employment services. The Government explains that public employment services, including job facilitation and job skills matching, do not yet include data collection related explicitly to structural change, and that various government agencies have their specific programs and measures to meet the needs of particular categories of workers, such as women, young people, older workers and disabled workers. The Government adds that among those are programs and measures administered by DOLE in partnership with local government units, the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) and other government agencies, including the following: the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP), the Emergency Employment Programs (DILEEP) and the DILEEP for Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities. The Committee takes note of this information and wishes to stress that having various Government agencies run their own programs and measures to meet the needs of particular categories of workers, such as women, young people, older workers and disabled workers presents more disadvantages than advantages, including in terms of cost-effectiveness, duplication and coherence. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated information, including statistical data on measures adopted or envisaged with respect to labour market services and on the practical effects of these measures in the labour market.

Education and training. The Government recalls that TESDA is the primary agency that implements technical and vocational training policies. TESDA has four training modalities: school-based, centre-based, enterprise-based and community-based. These are being done with TESDA’s infrastructure in place — 57 TESDA-administered schools, 60 training centres, enterprise-based training through the Dual Tech System (DTS)/apprenticeship and community-based training in coordination with local government units (LGU’s). The Government adds that TESDA is responsible for developing the National Technical Education and Skills and Development Plan (NTESDP) and that for the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) graduates/alumni, TESDA has Job Linkaging and Networking Services (JoLiNS). The Government explains that the World Cafe of Opportunities (WCO) is a ‘‘one-stop-shop” wherein national government agencies, private companies, technical institutions, and financing institutions converge strategically to offer employment, training, and financing opportunities and facilitate higher job-skill matching. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the Technical Education and Skills Development Committees (TESDCs) activities. In the absence of the information requested previously, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the activities of the TESDCs. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of the TVET programmes on graduates’ employability. It also requests the Government to provide updated information on the policies adopted or envisaged with regard to vocational training, retraining and further training and to measures to co-ordinate education and training policies with prospective employment opportunities.

Youth employment. In its last comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the impact of the youth employment programmes adopted by indicating how the beneficiaries of such programmes have transitioned into lasting employment. Noting that the report is silent on this point, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the impact of the youth employment programmes adopted, by indicating how the beneficiaries of such programmes have transitioned into lasting employment.

Employment of women. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 14 November 2024, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed its concern on different aspects related to the employment of women, including: (a) women’s concentration in lower-paid jobs in the informal economy, where they are exposed to exploitation and occupational health and safety hazards and excluded from social security coverage, and the lack of progress made towards the adoption of the Magna Carta of Workers in the Informal Economy; (b) the large number of women engaged in unpaid care work; (c) the limited enforcement of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value and the significant gender pay gap in the State party; (d) that women’s participation in trade unions is declining, owing to discrimination and harassment of union members; (e) the absence of independent confidential complaint mechanisms for women who are victims of sexual harassment and underreporting by women of sexual harassment and the lack of effective labour inspections (document CEDAW/C/PHL/CO/9, paragraphs 41 and 42). The Committee requests the Government to provide updated detailed information on the impact of the measures adopted or envisaged to pursue an active policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment for women and combat gender discrimination.

Child labour. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 26 October 2022, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), while noting the Philippine Programme against Child Labour, expressed its concern about the very high number of children subjected to child labour, including in hazardous conditions, and about the acceptance of child labour by children and their parents (document CRC/C/PHL/CO/5-6, paragraph 38). The Committee also refers to its 2023 comments under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No.138), where it recalled that a high number of children involved in child labour were found in the informal economy and requested the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate services to better monitor children working in the informal economy and on their own account. The Committee also refers to its 2023 comments under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) asking the Government to provide information on several aspects related to the protection of children from various forms of exploitation and forced labour, including statistics on violations and penalties in cases of child trafficking, the use of the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) database to prevent the involvement of children in armed conflicts, efforts to rehabilitate children who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation, measures to prevent children from being involved in drug trafficking, and actions to protect and rehabilitate child domestic workers. In view of the above, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on how the national employment policy is used to combat child labour and upholding the principle of freedom of choice of employment.

Migrant Workers. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 23 May 2023, the UN Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW), while noting with satisfaction that the Government has strengthened its national legal framework relevant to migrant workers, expressed concerns: (i) on the persistence of gender disparities in labour market participation, and in the wide gender pay gap given the predominance of women in low-level and low-paid jobs, and is a driver of women’s migration for work; (ii) on labour exploitation and other forms of ill-treatment affecting overseas Filipino migrant workers, and disproportionately, by women domestic migrant workers; and (iii) that the Government does not have oversight over seasonal worker agreements concluded between local governments in the Philippines with their counterparts in destination countries (document CMW/C/PHL/CO/3, paragraphs 27, 31, and 46). Referring to its 2022 comments on the application of the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143) and the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97),the Committee requests the Government to provide updated detailed information on the impact of the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure that the interplay between employment and migration policies is designed in such a way as to address domestic labour market challenges while maximizing the benefits of international migration for economic development and upholding the principles of full, productive and freely chosen employment as well as the rights of migrant workers.

Article 3. Consultation with the social partners. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on consultations held with the social partners on formulating and implementing a national employment policy. The Government recalls that the main tripartite consultative body is the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (NTIPC) and that, under the NTIPC, there are regional TIPCs and several industry tripartite councils (ITCs). The Government states that the NTIPC has been consistently used in development planning and that the existing 2020–2024 Philippine Decent Work Country Programme was formulated and adopted through this mechanism. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on consultations held with the social partners on the formulation and implementation of the current employment policies.