Makabayan bloc renews call for more quality jobs amid rising unemployment

FILE PHOTO: A woman goes to a job fair in Marikina City in July 2022. Philippine Daily Inquirer/Lyn Rillon

MANILA, Philippines — With more Filipinos unemployed in December 2022, the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives has reiterated their call for the government to provide more quality jobs.

A good job, as defined by the group, provides fair compensation and safe working conditions.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the country’s unemployment rate worsened from 4.2 percent in November 2022 to 4.3 percent the following month.

National Statistician Dennis Mapa, however, said it was “not significantly different” as he noted that those who do have jobs have better-quality work, particularly in terms of longer work hours per week, which meant more income for them.

But Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel argued that a slight increase in the jobless rate should not be mistaken for good news because of the “holiday fever” that made employees work more.

“Huwag po nating mapagkamalan na ito ay marka ng pagbangon ng bayan mula sa krisis ng pandemya. Hindi natin masasabi na mas dekalidad ang iilang trabahong binunga nito dahil lang mas maraming oras na nagtrabaho ang manggagawa,” he said in a news conference on Thursday.

(Let’s not be deceived by this; it signifies that the country is recovering from the pandemic-induced crisis. We cannot say that these jobs are quality only because workers had to work longer hours.)

Manuel then cited recent Social Weather Stations findings, which showed that more Filipinos have experienced involuntary hunger and have rated themselves poor in December.

READ: 12.9M Filipinos feel ‘poor’ in Q4 2022 – SWS

“Kakarampot na nga ang dumadagdag na trabaho, lalong dumadami pa ang gutom at mahirap na Pilipino. Ibig sabihin lang nito, mas matagal na nagtatrabaho ang mga manggagawa pero hindi ito natutumbusan ng nakabubuhay na sahod at sapat na sahod pa nga. Hindi ito dekalidad na trabaho,” he added.

(Despite more poor and hungry Filipinos, few jobs were added, implying workers are working longer hours for less pay. Moreover, these jobs are low-quality.)

Alliance of Concerned Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro echoed Manuel’s sentiments as she stressed that even a slight increase in the number of unemployed Filipinos should not be taken lightly, especially given the record-high 8.7 percent inflation rate in January 2023.

Even without the PSA data, Castro said the effects of unemployment, particularly the lack of quality jobs, had already been burdening the Filipino people.

“Sa mga nagtatrabaho, hirap na hirap na silang pagkasyahin iyong kanilang sweldo lalo pa ngayon, talagang kailangan na kailangan iyong pagtaas ng sweldo ng ating mamamayan,” she also noted.

(Those working are having a hard time budgeting their salaries, especially now that we badly need an increase in the people’s wages.)

The teachers’ group representative then questioned why the unemployment rate was “inversely proportional” to the gross domestic product (GDP), which, according to the PSA, grew by 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022.

READ: Philippines posted above-target GDP growth of 7.6% in 2022

“Sino ba iyong umangat ang kalagayan o sino ba iyong nakinabang sa pagtaas ng GDP? At sino iyong nawawalan dito sa unemployment kasabay ng inflation na nangyayari ngayon?” she pressed.

(Who benefits from this increase in the GDP? And who is harmed by unemployment along with the rise in inflation?)

These economic blows, Castro noted, are the factors pushing more Filipinos to seek quality jobs in foreign countries where they are mostly seen as “second-class citizens” and are more vulnerable to maltreatment.

Ball in Marcos’ hands

The two Makabayan lawmakers called on the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to address the jobless rate in the country.

“Ang bola ay nasa kamay ni Marcos Jr. Malakas na na panawagan ng mga kabataan at manggagawa ang pagakyat ng sahod at pagbuhay sa mga lokal na industriya para sa mas marami at mas dekalidad na trabaho,” Manuel said.

(The ball is in Marcos Jr.’s hands. The call of the youth and the people is loud and clear: We need to increase wages and empower the local industries to have more quality jobs.)

He argued that it was high time for Marcos to acknowledge the need to deal with the unemployment issue instead of flying to foreign countries to tout the natural resources and “low-paid, semi-skilled labor force” of the Philippines.

Castro, meanwhile, said the government should be firm in heeding the demand of Filipinos for jobs and aid.

“Kung talagang seryoso ang ating gobyerno, bigyang pansin talaga iyong pagbibigay ng sapat na trabaho sa kanyang mamamayan at iyong matagal na naming sinasabi na dagdag na ayuda,” she added.

(If the government is serious about addressing this, it should give attention to providing enough jobs and more aid for its people, which we have long been demanding.)

KGA/abc