MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 28, 2013) – The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines will present many new and recurring, but unmet labor agenda once President Benigno Aquino meets with labor leaders for the traditional Labor Day breakfast on Tuesday.
The breakfast will be held in Malacanang’s Heroes Hall, according to Gerard Seno, of the TUCP.
“It’s a once-a-year privilege for labor leaders but there has been no working meeting between labor groups and President Aquino since he assumed office in 2010. He promised to meet us on a regular basis but there has been none of that since he made a promise. As a result, many labor issues are inacted and are piling up in the past three years. If that Labor Day meeting pushes through, the agenda indeed would be tall and heavy,” Seno said.
“On top of the agenda is this so-called jobless growth. There has been a pronounced improvement in the economy but these growth does not translate to generate opportunities for employment nor it satisfy the underemployed.”
Seno citing the National Economic Development Authority record said by the end of last year, the country registered 6.6% GDP growth compared to 6.4% in Thailand, 6.2% in Indonesia, 5.6% in Malaysia, 5.0 % in Vietnam, and 1.2 % in Singapore.
Records from the National Statistics Office also showed that there are 2.89 million unemployed Filipino in January 2013 and 2.76 million in October 2012. The record also showed there are 7.934 million underemployed in January 2013, up by 916,000 since January 2012 (7.018 million) and 7.050 million in 2011, he said.
The all-time high underemployment rate in six years was recorded in July 2012 with 8.55 million with more than 80 per cent of them in the agriculture and services sector like security guards, tellers, clerks, waiters, mechanics, technicians, sales ladies, and service crews.
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