THE UNITED Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United States Labor department will launch a project in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Philippines, to help improve the country’s compliance to labor laws, occupational safety and gender equality standards, particularly in the agricultural, fishing, and mining sectors.
ILO has reported that nine million workers in the rural sector were affected by the coronavirus pandemic, 22% of whom are women.
It noted that the three specific sectors are “characterized by poverty, poor working conditions, and high risk of occupational accidents and diseases.”
In addition, the work of women in these sectors are often undervalued, hence they face greater risks of job income losses, unsafe and unhealthy working environments, and have a double burden of balancing work for profit and family responsibilities, the ILO said in its report.
ILO and the US will launch the program “Improving Workers’ Rights in the Rural Sectors of the Indo-Pacific with a focus on Women” on Wednesday, which is part of the UN agency’s Safety + Health for All project.
Philippine Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, who currently chairs the ILO government group, said in a press conference Monday that the country has “a continuing program for the protection of women and of children from child labor.” — Bianca Angelica D. Añago