Labor groups want in on inspection of Boracay establishments

Labor group representatives should be part of the inspection of establishments in Boracay, the Partido Manggagawa (PM) urged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Sunday.

"We request the DOLE to include duly deputized representatives of labor groups in the planned inspection in Boracay to ensure compliance by Chinese-owned shops and stores of our labor laws and regulations," said PM national chairperson Rene Magtubo.

Citing Department Order 183 released in 2017, Magtubo said representatives of workers and employers and can be deputized as labor inspectors to strengthen the labor law compliance system.

"Dozens of deputized inspectors from workers organizations have been trained since then and should now be deployed by the DOLE in Boracay," he explained.

DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III was reported earlier this month to have said that labor law inspectors are now on red alert in tracking down illegal foreign workers in the country.

According to Magtubo, the government must look into reports that select establishments in Boracay have been exclusively hiring Chinese nationals.

"Some 30,000 workers were displaced by President Rodrigo Duterte’s closure of Boracay last year and most of them have not found employment again in the island," he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the six-month closure of Boracay island to make way for its rehabilitation starting April 26, 2018.

Following its reopening in October, tourist arrivals in the island have been limited to only 6,405 per day, as only 19,000 tourists will be allowed in Boracay at any given time.

"[W]e are concerned about reports that the Chinese-owned establishments have been exclusively hiring Chinese nationals as cashiers, cooks, waitresses, laborers, and drivers. This is a violation of our labor regulations as these are jobs that can be done by Filipinos," said Magtubo.

He clarified, however, that the group does not seek for the deportation of Chinese workers, but that Filipino workers displaced by the Boracay shutdown be prioritized.

"Once there is a formal determination that their jobs can be done by Filipinos and can be filled up, the Chinese workers can then be repatriated back to China at the expense of their Chinese employers who violated our laws," he said.

"The Chinese workers must be paid by their Chinese employers for their wages for the duration of their contract even though it was not served because of the repatriation. This is our pro-migrant worker resolution of this problem of influx of Chinese workers in our country," he elaborated.

There has been a recent surge in the entry of Chinese laborers into the Philippines, with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issuing 25,000 Alien Employment permits to Chinese in the last two years, over half the total 40,000 permits.

The DOLE downplayed this in February when Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Chinese nationals who hold work permits in the country are just filling vacancies for jobs that Filipinos cannot or would not do.

National Confederation of Labor (NCL) president and Senatorial aspirant Ernesto Arellano denied such claims, saying there have been administrative lapses which drove the surge of Chinese laborers.

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte said he cannot simply deport Chinese workers in the country, as he is looking out for some 300,000 Filipinos in China. — BM, GMA News