Securing a job is the aspiration of the majority following years of formal education. A stable job not only sustains one’s family but instills dignity and pride to the employed. In a general picture, a country where its citizens are mostly employed is one where economic growth and communal peace can thrive.
However, not just any job will suffice. It must be stable, decent, and aligned with an individual's skills. It must also compensate the worker adequately commensurate with industry standards. The consequences of failing to meet these criteria are dire — the shadows of unemployment and underemployment loom large.
Unemployment spawns social problems, and worse, unrest among the population; while underemployment stifles progress and innovation, forcing citizens into underpaid or low-skill positions. People have no choice but risk leaving their families behind for a sliver of a chance for a financially rewarding job in strange lands.
To address this situation, the President has given his approval to the proposed Labor and Employment Plan (LEP) 2023-2028. This strategy generally is designed to create quality employment, alleviate unemployment, and combat underemployment. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma confirmed this development after a sectoral meeting at Malacañang on Aug. 15, 2023.
The LEP has three priorities: maximizing productive, remunerative, freely chosen, quality, and sustainable job opportunities; ensuring respect for all rights at work, international commitments, and human rights; and, lastly, building an inclusive social protection for all. Laguesma noted that this plan is in line with the Eight-Point Socio-Economic Agenda of the President and the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.
One of the immediate outcomes of the LEP is the plan to produce at least three million jobs for skilled and technical workers, in coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). These jobs are projected to be generated in the infrastructure sector for the administration’s “Build Better More” program.
“Under the LEP, there will be a review to address the benefits and the compensation of the workers,” said Laguesma.
Meanwhile, DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan affirmed there are a number of big-ticket projects slated until 2028, and these are expected to produce more substantial jobs.
“Right now, we are implementing a total capital outlay budget of about ₱800 billion, and we are implementing 70,000 big and small contracts all over the country,” Bonoan said. “You can imagine the labor force that we need in terms of skilled and technical people. We are now generating over three million employment opportunities.”
With this plan, the government is urging Filipinos to consider the domestic job market before venturing abroad. Laguesma said that the LEP’s implementation is currently set for September this year, which will be formally unveiled during a national tripartite conference with an employment summit.
Having a roadmap, plan, or strategy is definitely a welcome move. But, how do we convince all the stakeholders to move in one direction? How do we truly break the chains of unemployment and underemployment that have shackled generations of Filipino workers? The hard part — and hard work — starts now.
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