Group slams DOLE for ‘grossly misleading’ employment remark

September 8, 2024 , 06:14 PM

By Gabriel Kim Leal

(September 8, 2024) – A progressive group on Sunday criticized the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for its “insulting” employment information, echoing the earlier criticisms of other cause-oriented organizations.

In a statement, Bayan Muna said DOLE counting individuals as “employed” for working at least one hour does not reflect the true labor situation in the country.

“This is both deeply insulting and grossly misleading. Defining employment in such a narrow way ignores the reality of economic hardship faced by millions of Filipinos and serves only as a means to artificially lower unemployment statistics,” said Bayan Muna’s Ferdinand Gaite.

He stressed that true employment means more than just minimal work hours, adding that it should involve stable jobs that provide a living wage.

As of July, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the employment rate dropped to 95.3%, while the unemployment rate increased to 4.7%, translating to 2.38 million jobless Filipinos.

“This issue highlights the failure of the government to provide meaningful job opportunities and exposes flaws in its labor policy, which is increasingly detached from social realities and the actual needs of the population,” added Gaite.

In a budget hearing last Thursday, DOLE undersecretary Carmela Torres explained that the Philippines only follows the international standard when counting employment, saying that anyone who works at least one hour during a “reference period” is considered employed.

When asked by Sen. Loren Legarda to clarify what exactly a “reference period” is, Torres said it “depends.”

The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines an employed person as anyone who worked, whether paid or unpaid, “for at least one hour during the reference week.”

Bayan Muna, however, expressed frustration with the definition, saying the DOLE uses an outdated framework that no longer reflects the current labor market.

“Empty promises and flawed definitions will only deepen the crisis, leaving workers to suffer in an economy that fails to serve them,” said Gaite.

(PM)

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