PH labor groups meet US Commerce chief

THE top labor organizations in the country had a “historic meeting” with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimundo, who was said to have expressed concerns about the problematic state of the Philippine labor rights situation.

The heads of the Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro), Public ServicesLabor Independent Confederation, Federation of Free Workers and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) in a press conference at TUCP headquarters in Quezon City on Thursday said they had a chance to personally talk to Raimundo on March 11-12.

She led the first-ever Presidential Trade and Investment Mission dispatched by US President Joe Biden to the Philippines as part of Washington’s Global Labor Strategy and Worker-Centered Trade that tie up labor rights to trade and investment, according to the labor groups.

“We were so thankful for this meeting which was historic because this was only the first time that an American official personally met with the Philippine workers’ groups,” the labor leaders said.

They said Raimundo assured that American companies investing in the country would respect the rights of Filipino workers, among others.

The labor groups reiterated that the US official was “very concerned,” especially on the Philippine labor rights situation.

“She (Raimundo) has committed to raising these issues affecting Filipino workers and unionists, ranging from red-tagging to extrajudicial killings, to the relevant American companies,” they said.

These include the imperative to end the apparent rampant violation of freedom of association of American brands and locators in the Philippines wherein a unionaverse company can transfer their production and orders anytime and anywhere to bust unions, said the labor leaders.

Under the vision of the Biden administration for worker-centered trade, Raimundo discussed with them the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) with emphasis on firm commitment to the fundamental labor rights and core labor standards.

She said the establishment of the Tripartite Labor Rights Advisory Board to identify and address labor rights violations is part and parcel of IPEF, according to the top labor organizations.

The Philippine labor movement said it looked forward to Raimundo’s commitment to upholding fundamental labor rights and “safeguarding the dignity of each and every worker toward inclusive and sustainable trade and growth between America and the Philippines, and the entire Indo-Pacific region.”