Colleges, tech-voc institutes to offer labor education as elective course
THE Senate on February 22 approved a bill on its third and final reading seeking to mandate all public and private higher education institutions (HEIS) to integrate labor education as part of an elective course.
Sen. Joel J. Villanueva—principal sponsor of Senate Bill 1513 or the Labor Education Act—said the measure was a consolidation of several bills filed by Senators Ramon M. Revilla Jr. and Manuel M. Lapid, which takes into consideration House Bill 4466.
According to Villanueva, around 700,000 students graduate from HEIS every year, but have little knowledge of their labor rights and access to legal aid or assistance, forcing them to compromise and leaving them vulnerable to labor exploitations.
Villanueva, who chairs the Senate’s labor as well as higher and technical-vocational (techvoc) education committees, said equipping students with basic knowledge in labor laws would help protect them from violation of their rights, such as rights to security of tenure, minimum wages, premium pay in case of overtime, holiday work and nighttime work, among others.
“At present, regions that have the highest number of students enrolled in [HEIS are also those] where establishments record dismal compliance to labor laws,” Villanueva lamented. “Unfortunately, there is no clear core subject in… higher, [tech-voc] education sectors where labor education is comprehensively covered.”
He said the enactment of SB 1513 into law would ensure that every Filipino worker would be aware of his or her rights and labor issues, which range from unemployment and underemployment to problems concerning fair wages, job security, safe workplaces, social protection, and unfair labor practices.
Under the bill, HEIS and techvoc training institutes shall hold a labor empowerment and career guidance conference which graduating students need to attend.
Likewise, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment, shall develop appropriate modules of instructions and other relevant materials relating to labor education, and shall encourage all tech-voc schools nationwide to integrate labor education in their curriculum.
The Commission on Higher Education and Tesda shall review the coverage and quality of labor education courses offered in HEIS, as well as those in tech-voc schools.
“This proposed measure seeks to integrate labor education in [tertiary learning, as well as in techvoc] education and training curriculum, so that before students join the labor force, they are equipped with basic understanding of laborers’ rights and privileges,” Revilla said in his co-sponsorship speech. “This will empower [students to face] the challenges waiting for them as they become laborers themselves. The more knowledge they have of labor practices and relations, rights and privileges, history and empowerment, the better they will be equipped as contributors to productivity and drivers of the national economy in general.”