Young Workers

Resembling a traditional graduation ceremony, the 126 graduates of three courses, Finishing Course for Call Center Agents (FCCCA) National Certificate (NC) II, Housekeeping NC II and Pinoy Hilot/Wellness Massage NC II, were formally presented to proud parents, trainers and TUCP officials. “It feels good to finally graduate. I am proud of where I came from. I am proud of being a recipient of TWC’s training program,” said Jennylyn Saavedra, a graduate of FCCCA course.

Bro. dela Cruz, TUCP Youth Director, reminded graduates of much bigger challenges in life than completing the training. He stressed that the TUCP and the TUCP Party List, with assistance from the Technical Education and Skills Development (TESDA), prepared graduates to succeed in those employment exams, gruelling interviews and revalidas, and tiring OJTs.

“I’ve had my share of failures, of being rejected after a series of employment interviews and examinations. But I never gave up. TUCP Workers College did not only teach us communication skills but also prepared us to accept every rejection as a challenge to do better,” shared Kristina Ocampo, who delivered the graduates’ response on behalf of FCCCA scholars. After almost a month of intensive company (in-house) training, Ms. Ocampo signed a work contract with a Philippine-based call centre.

Joey Apaw, speaking on behalf of housekeeping graduates, said he is proud of being a product of TWC and TESDA’s exacting standards. “I am no ordinary housekeeping graduate. I am a TWC person,” Joey exclaimed.

Leonardo Pangilagan of Pinoy Hilot encouraged fellow graduates to practice their skills and help popularize the traditional Filipino way of massage. He also committed to continue his education with TWC and work with TUCP and its advocacy and solidarity work.

Bro. Alejandro Villaviza assured graduates of TUCP’s support to help them find jobs, bring better services, quality training courses for more families and communities, better opportunities, better protection for and the exercise of their rights, and help them enjoy the fruits of their efforts.

He thanked TUCP Party List Representative Raymond Mendoza and former Senator and TUCP’s General Secretary Ernesto Herrera for getting TESDA support for the college. He particularly acknowledged TESDA’s continued scholarship programs.

“To our new students, we will mould you to be better students and workers. To our graduates, go spread the good news! There is hope; hope for many can start at the TUCP Workers College,” concluded Bro. Villaviza.

Celebrating with graduates and proud teachers and parents were other TUCP vice presidents, Bros. Zoilo dela Cruz, Jr.; Victorino Balais; Jesus Villamor; Alvin Fidelson; Sis. Esperanza Ocampo; and TUCP Chair of the Women’s Committee, Sis. Florencia Cabatingan.

TWC graduates are one with Wisconsin workers

Sis. Anna Lee Fos, TUCP Human and Trade Union Rights Monitoring Officer, briefed the graduates regarding the workplace rights and collective bargaining issues confronting the Wisconsin workers and the youth and other states in the US and called on the graduates’ support. The graduates committed to work with the TUCP in all its campaigns and advocacies.

Trade unions are extremely concerned about decent work opportunities for youth and continue to strengthen our work to advocate for international and national policies to stimulate overall job creation, investments in education and training to enhance the job prospects of young people, and to promote fundamental labor rights for workers of all ages.

Young trade unionists’ views were also shared with the panel by Dirk Janssen, Youth Delegate of the Netherlands to the UN, who had met with youth committees of trade unions in his home country to hear in their words how youth are impacted by unemployment and underemployment. Ambassador Jean-Francis Zinsou, Permanent Representative of Benin to the UN, reviewed the national policies that his government has adopted to confront the challenge of high youth employment, which he warned can lead to volatile economies and unstable societies. Such policies include measures that the international trade union movement supports, including investment in education and training that aim to align the skills of young people with job opportunities.

Still, in developing and developed countries, the picture of youth employment is a dark one. Jane Stewart, ILO representative to the UN, noted that during the recent crisis youth unemployment has increased more rapidly than overall unemployment and today youth are 2-3 times more likely to be unemployed than adults. Many young people entering the labour market are entering with no social protection whatsoever, forced to settle for informal, irregular and insecure work arrangements with low wages, poor and precarious working conditions, and without the freedom to join a trade union or engage in collective bargaining.

A speaker from a US employers’ association agreed trade unions that overall job creation fundamental to increasing job opportunities for youth. But in our view, the issue of concern for youth is not only lack of work, but lack of decent work. Labor rights are human rights and they are indispensible tools for sustained and sustainable economic growth. It is crucial that young people’s work is decent work, and youth-focused job creation must prioritize the protection of these basic rights.

The program, supported by the International Trade Union Confederation-Asia Pacific (ITUC-AP), in cooperation with the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and Workers Development Foundation Inc. (WDFI), participated in by around 27 young trade union leaders from TUCP affiliates, partner youth groups and other labor organizations, discussed and assessed the country’s progress in decent work, identified the needs and aspirations of youth and emphasized the roles of unions in achieving the goals of decent work.

The youth leaders reflected on their experiences with government programs and called for serious attention to addressing the systemic problem of high unemployment among the youth and access to decent employment programs.

“Despite the various programs and services for the youth, many young workers still end up in low-paying, poor and exploitative working environments, with limited access to social protection coverage,” noted Mary Lake Pace, Executive Vice President and Youth Representative of Philippine Integrated Industries Labour Union (PIILU) in Mindanao.

Bitz Claros, President, VOICE of the Youth in Call Centres, called for more government attention to improving the occupational safety and health and respect for labour rights in the call centre industry.

“Young people welcome and recognize the potentials and contributions of call centres to employment, but where is decent work without regard for workers’ health, welfare and labour rights?” Claros stressed.

The conference highlighted avenues and the roles of workers and their organizations in advancing decent work promotion through the Social Protection Floor, the Global Jobs Pact, green jobs, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) among others.

Ask us! Engage us!

Joel Centra, President of Youth for Empowerment and Solidarity (YES)/Informal Sector, noted that his many years of working with the local government units taught him about the importance of building partnerships.

“Governments and institutions often assume that they know what we (youth) need. We should assert our role as partners (instead of mere participants or beneficiaries) in the implementation of all youth-related programs,” Centra advised.

Rafael Mapalo, TUCP Youth Director, stressed that youth and decent work, including youth participation in social dialogue mechanisms are among the unions’ priority concerns in the Philippine Decent Work Common Agenda (PDWCA). “We will continue to engage in dialogue, contribute and participate in the implementation and monitoring the progress of PDWCA, particularly on youth,” Mapalo said.

TUCP Deputy General Secretary Cedric Bagtas noted that the program is part of the series of capacity building programs designed to build the knowledge, competencies and capacity of the youth, including the education and research officers, to engage in discussions and implement local decent work promotional programs in their areas of concern.

Experts on youth employment issues and decent work from the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) and trade unions also discussed the current impacts of globalization on jobs, union organizing and collective bargaining, wages and living conditions, the state of the global and Philippine environment, the implications of climate change and government’s mitigation and adaptation strategies and developments in the proposed national labour and employment summit and on industrial reforms undertaken by the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC).