Two key concepts underlie the policy of equal employment opportunities for women. One is that women workers should have equal opportunities in accessing basic social services provided by the Labor Department. The other is that such programmes and services must be responsive to the special needs and concerns of women at the workplace. These considerations have led the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to identify seven priority gender issues in the Philippine workplace:
- promotion of equality in employment (EEO) and treatment
- opposition to aspects of gender-based discrimination such as sexual harassment and unequal pay
- protection and promotion of the welfare of women in the informal sector, particularly home-based workers
- protection and promotion of the welfare of female overseas contract workers
- improvement of participation by women in policy-making and decision-making processes in trade unions and other workers' organizations
- protection and promotion of the welfare of female children
- harmonization of work and family responsibilities
A specialized agency of the Labor Department, the Bureau of Women and Young Workers (BWYW), is in the forefront of the drive to protect working women, youth and children. The BWYW formulates policies and sets standards for employment in the formal sector, and develops welfare programmes for women in rural areas. However, other agencies of the DOLE - particularly the Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC), the Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC), the Bureau of Rural Workers (BRW) and the Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) - provide services to these groups within the ambit of their mandates. For example, the OSHC, in collaboration with the BWYW, is a key agency in promoting the safety and health of women in the informal sector, particularly with regard to home-based workers, female overseas contract workers and female children.
Achievements thus far
We have taken a number of actions to integrate the concept of Gender and Development (GAD) into the Philippine workplace. At the macro level, in 1995 the Philippine government signed into law Executive Order No. 273. This legislation approved and adopted the Philippine Plan for Gender Responsive Development (PPGD), 1995-2025. The Plan, a national blueprint that guides government agencies in responding to GAD issues and concerns in the long term, covers a wide area, relevant sections being Labor and Employment, Women and Migration, Prostitution, Violence Against Women and Women and Family. The law also provided for the formulation of two GAD Plans by government agencies and Local Government Units (LGUs): the Gender Responsive Medium Term Plan and the Annual GAD Plan. The agencies regularly allot 5 per cent of their annual budget to fund GAD plans consistent with their mandate and guided by the PPDG.
The Labor Department drafted the entire chapter on labor and employment, which sets out the following points: issues and concerns affecting women in the labor and employment sector, both public and private; past and current efforts to address these
concerns; goals, objectives, plans and strategies relative to the overall plan for women in labor and employment; and an indicative plan for 1995-2025. The BWYW is the lead agency in the implementation of the indicative plan, in coordination with other DOLE agencies and its social partners.
At the Labor Department, we have undertaken initiatives within the framework of our commitment to the Beijing Platform of Action (BPA) and the PPDG. For obvious reasons, I cannot discuss all of these, but I would like to mention those having a direct link to women's safety and health:
- A body of legislation focused on women's employment and safety and health in the workplace as embodied in the Labor Code of the Philippines (1974). A recent piece of legislation, Republic Act No. 7877 of 1998, defines and criminalizes sexual harassment in the Philippine workplace as well as dealing with education and training and the environment. Another relevant law is Republic Act No. 7610 of 1992, which enumerates the forms of child abuse, exploitation and discrimination and provides for the formulation of a comprehensive programme to protect children from the kinds of abuse and exploitation which endanger their survival and development. Laws which seek to ease the multiple burden of women by providing benefits such as facilities for child care and paternity benefits (Republic Act No 8187 of 1996) have also been enacted.
- Programmes that promote economic self-reliance among women in the informal and rural sectors. The Women Workers Employment and Entrepreneurship Development (WEED) programme which targets working women in the informal sector, specifically the underemployed and home-based workers. The programme identifies women with entrepreneurial capabilities and offers training in enterprise development and provides credit facilities; these measures enable the beneficiaries to engage in micro, cottage, small or individual businesses. Started in 1989, the WEED programme has now been institutionalized in all 14 regional offices of the Labor Department. The Promotion of Rural Employment through Self Employment and Enterprise Development (PRESEED) operates on the same principles, with rural workers as beneficiaries. The Diversification of Women's Occupation through Training of Women in Non-Traditional Trades (WINT) seeks to facilitate the entry of women into higher income occupations and to help them obtain better positions in the workplace. Since 1988, 615 women trainees have found gainful employment in small and large firms through WINT.
Future challenges
We believe that the 21st century workplace will present both challenges and opportunities for women in developing countries such as the Philippines. One trend is the emergence of new technologies and processes that involve safety and health risks for the distinctive physiological and psychological characteristics of women. We are specially concerned about the still unknown effects of toxic chemicals and substances, especially on the reproductive system. One big challenge that we have already had to face was the outbreak of Stevens Johnson's Syndrome among 57 Filipino migrants in Taiwan in 1994; it claimed the lives of five women workers there and affected several Filipino workers in an Export Processing Zone Authority in the Philippines in 1998. In both instances, the workplace involved was an electronics firm.
Another challenge is that of overcoming the persistent poverty that relegates women to subordinate roles both in the workplace and in society. The key is wider access to quality education and training. In the formal sector, employment and training
policies need to be steered in the direction of human resources planning that is more gender sensitive. Occupational choices in so called "non-traditional" jobs and careers for women should be opened up. For women in the informal sector, greater economic self-reliance should be promoted by responding to the problems of limited skills, capital and access to credit. Given that women account for 69.4% of all homeworkers (6.3M) in 1993, programmes such as WEED, PRESEED and WINT need to be expanded and replicated. One development worth noting is the setting up of the National Vocational Training and Development Center for Women (N-V-T-D-C-W) in April, 1998 through the joint efforts of the Philippine and Japanese governments. The Center is intended to be a focal point for development measures aimed at women, including the provision of accessible services in the areas of technology-based education and training, research and development and advocacy of women's issues. It offers pre-employment skills training in nine areas - automotive, electronics, welding, ceramics, hotel and restaurant, agro-processing, garments, crafts, gift-item businesses.
Finally, there is a need for relevant policies and legislation aimed at assisting women. Basically, Philippine laws that protect and promote the welfare of women are adequate, but there is a need for more specific legislation targeting vulnerable groups. For instance, the informal sector remains outside the sphere of employment legislation and OSH protection. Priority must also be accorded to working children, especially girls, who are to be found working under the most intolerable conditions. We need to inquire into the health needs of women migrant workers, who account for more than half of the 4 million Filipino workers overseas. Increased attention should also be paid to the elimination of physical and psychological violence in the workplace, both local and international.
More importantly, we need to translate the laws, policies and plans into practices on a nationwide level, in businesses, offices and administration. In the formal sector, for example, Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) can be rendered more responsive to the needs of women workers. In terms of coverage, CBA provisions and clauses should integrate aspects of safety and health which reflect special concerns of women. The negotiating process should include more women workers who can speak in behalf of their interests. The Bureau of Labor Relations has programmes that aim to enhance the gender responsiveness of the collective bargaining process.
The major obstacles are the ineffectiveness of enforcement and the low level of awareness among workers and employers of labor law provisions regarding employment and OSH standards. In the global workplace, there is a lack of bilateral agreements with host countries, which hinders the effective protection of the rights of Filipino workers. Thus there is a greater need for research, advocacy and communication aimed at supporting the formulation of policies and decisions at government, enterprise and employee levels.
A gender-responsive labor statistical system on employment and OSH needs to be institutionalized.
Dulce P. EstrellaGust, M.D.
Executive Director
Rowena O. Galang
Occupational Safety and Health Center, Department of Labor and Employment
Cor. North Ave and Agham Road
Diliman Quezon City
Manila, The Philippines
E-mail: oshcdole@skyinet.net
Asian-Pacific Newsletter 2/1999 p.46-47