MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / July 11, 2014) – Representative Leah Paquiz has filed House Bill 4724, also known as the Anti-Discrimination in Employment Act of 2014, which prohibits employers to engage in discriminatory practices at all the stages of employment.
“We need a law that will explicitly ban discrimination of all types. I believe workers should be hired or judged not on the basis of their age or gender, but on their capacity to perform the job,” Paquiz said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner by the Public Services Labor Independent Confederation.
Paquiz said the Constitution guarantees full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized, and promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all. But despite this guarantee, she said discriminatory practices in recruitment and employment continue unabated.
“If you are more than 30 years old and looking for a job in the Philippines, chances are you have become too old to be hired and overseas Filipino workers because of their age encounter difficulties finding work when they return to the country despite having the relevant skills and competencies,” she said, adding it is still common to find job advertisements that impose age and gender restrictions like: “Immediate hiring: Preferably 18-25 years old, female, with pleasing personality.”
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer workers in particular often experience discrimination at the workplace because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
Paquiz said the proposed law will eliminate all forms of discrimination in employment and put an end to all these unfair practices.
Trade unions have expressed support for the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill.
Annie Geron, General Secretary of the Public Services Labor Independent Confederation – a national confederation of unions in the public sector representing more than 80,000 employees – was present during the filing just recently of the bill in Congress.
She said that discriminatory practices in employment impede efforts to promote decent work and inclusive growth in the country.
“In the Philippines, where jobs are scarce and precarious work has become the norm, not only is discrimination in employment accepted, but it is also rampant and widely encouraged,” Geron said in the same statement.
“By eradicating discrimination, we will boost employment and productivity in the country. It will also allow our OFWs who have gained years of experience and much needed skills abroad to better reintegrate back into the country. It will ensure that everyone has a right to decent work regardless of age, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation and preferences,” she explained.
Geron said that adopting the bill is in line with international standards.
“The Philippines is a signatory to the ILO Convention No. 111 on Discrimination in Employment. Our country ratified it more than four decades ago. It is high time we fulfill our commitment and harmonize our national laws with international standards,” she said.
Once the bill becomes law, those found in violation of its provisions will be fined up to P500,000.00 or imprisoned up to two years.
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