Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2011, publiée 101ème session CIT (2012)

Convention (n° 122) sur la politique de l'emploi, 1964 - Philippines (Ratification: 1976)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in September 2010 including replies to the 2009 observation. The Government indicates that the Worktrep Entrepreneurial Program continues to benefit the workers in the informal sector to have sustainable business enterprises. The Committee also notes that evaluation studies will be undertaken as to the impact of programme assistance to the workers in the informal sector. The Government indicates that the Philippine Labor and Employment Plan (LEP) for the period 2011–16 was adopted and focused on inclusive growth through decent and productive work. The LEP provides the strategic directions for the Medium-Term Development Plan (2010–16) by communicating the Philippine vision for labour and employment and showing the intended direction and emphasis over the next five years. The Government is currently strengthening its commitment to addressing the employment issues by preparing a Philippine Labor and Employment Agenda 2011–16. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report detailed information regarding the impact of the Worktrep Entrepreneurial Program on assisting workers in the informal sector to enter into sustainable business enterprises. It also invites the Government to indicate how the major employment promotion strategies articulated in the Medium-Term Development Plan (2010–16) are executed and whether special difficulties are encountered in attaining the employment objectives of the strategies announced. Please also provide information on the implementation of the Labor and Employment Agenda 2011–16 objectives within a framework of a coordinated economic and social policy (Article 2(a)).

Employment trends. The Committee notes that employment increased by around 6,879 million persons from 2001 to 2010; from 29,156 million to 36,035 million persons. Employment moved towards the services sector (74 per cent of total employment generated) and away from the industrial sector (10 per cent) and agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors (16.1 per cent). The LEP indicates that by 2010, 51.8 per cent of the employed during the year were in the services sector and the share of agriculture, forestry and fishing sector stood at 33.2 per cent, while the industrial sector was at 15 per cent. The Committee notes that with the economic recovery in 2010, the domestic economy posted a rebound, growing by 7.3 per cent, due to a firm recovery in manufacturing. Merchandises exports and service based industries bolstered by strong consumption and sustained inflow of remittances. The LEP also indicates that over the 2001–10 period, the growth trend in labour productivity has been generally increasing, except during the 2008–09 crisis years. Nevertheless, labour productivity, on average, grew annually by 1.6 per cent with the highest growths posted in 2007 (4.1 per cent) and 2010 (4.4 per cent). The Committee notes that a large proportion of the employed is made up of the self-employed and unpaid family workers, and the volatility in employment can be traced in large part to the effect of weather disturbances which had a negative impact on agricultural employment. The Committee further notes that employment growth is barely catching up with population growth. The LEP also suggests that unemployment is prevalent in areas where the agriculture sector continues to play a dominant role. Unemployment rates had little changes from 2005 to 2010, following a small decline between 2006 and 2007 (-0.7 percentage point), unemployment rates remained constant in 2008 (7.4 per cent), 2009 (7.5 per cent) and in 2010 (7.4 per cent). The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report an analysis of the labour market trends, including data on the active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment, disaggregated by sector, age, gender, in particular for vulnerable categories of workers mentioned in this observation.

Youth employment. The Committee notes that unemployment is largely concentrated among young workers (aged 15–24 years) which in 2010 represented 51.1 per cent of the total number of persons unemployed. It further notes that the Government has implemented the Youth Education–Youth Employability (YE–YE) project to respond to the urgent need to create more opportunities for the youth to study and enhance their employability. The Government indicates that the YE–YE project was implemented through the Department of Labor and Employment and that three programmes are partners of the YE–YE project: the Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC), the Youth Employment and Migration (YEM), and the Special Program for Employment of the Students (SPES). The Committee invites the Government to continue to report on measures taken to meet the needs of young persons and to indicate how beneficiaries of the different programmes implemented have found lasting employment.

Coordination of training policies with employment opportunities. The Government indicates that the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) facilitates the employment of the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system graduates through the SEEK-FIND-TRAIN-VERIFY-EMPLOY proactive job-skills matching approach – this approach aims to provide for increased wages and/or self-employment for TVET graduates – by equipping the Filipinos with the skills needed in the labour force. The Government also indicates that, in 2009, graduates of TVET regular programs accounted for 1,903,793 out of the 1,982,435 enrolees. The Committee notes that some programmes such as the Youth Profiling for Starring Career (YP4SC), the TESDA Blue-Desk Jobs Bridging (BJB), and the Private Education Student Financial Assistance (PESFA), link training to employment opportunities. The Government indicates that there is no available information, disaggregated by gender and age, concerning education, training and lifelong learning. The Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on how the human resources development policies are coordinated with employment policies and on how the Government is strengthening the coordination between vocational institutions. It also welcomes information on how the local authorities and social partners participate in the design and implementation of training policies and programmes, and relevant data on the impact of the training programmes implemented in terms of the integration of its beneficiaries into lasting employment.

Article 3. Participation of social partners in the formulation and application of policies. The Committee notes that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) collected inputs from many stakeholders through discussions at the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC), and dialogue with worker’s and employer’s groups and other stakeholders to prepare the LEP. The Committee also notes with interest that the Task Force on Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), was created to benchmark areas for improving regulatory measures affecting private employment agencies. The Government indicates that one of the objectives of this Task Force is to identify the potential areas of partnership between private recruitment and placement agencies and public employment service and establish a mutual cooperation, assistance and collaboration between them in facilitating local employment opportunities. In its General Survey of 2010 concerning employment instruments, the Committee highlighted that the employment services are part of the necessary institutions for the achievement of full employment. In conjunction with Convention No. 122 and the Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88), Convention No. 181 forms a necessary building block for employment growth (see General Survey, op. cit., paragraphs 785–790). The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report on Convention No. 122 information on the new measures taken to build institutions for the realization of full employment. It further invites the Government to include information regarding the involvement of representatives of the rural sector and the informal economy in the formulation and implementation of the employment policy.