Date:
April 2003
Ten-Year
Ban on Laabor Strikes Proposed
A
group of Filipino-Chinese businessmen has
asked the Philippine government to impose
a 10-year moratorium on labor strikes and
in return promised to create three million
jobs within the next 12 to 14 years.
The
call quickly drew support from the Japanese
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), which
has been complaining about the high cost of
labor disputes in the country. The chamber
is composed of 600 Japanese firms operating
in the Philippines.
Militant
labor organizations, however, dispelled the
proposal as another ploy of the country's
capitalists to take advantage of the poorer
workers. The government is not expected to
heed the call of the Federation of Filipino
Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCI)
anytime soon so as not to fuel the controversy.
According
to FFCCCI president Robin Sy, many Filipino-Chinese
businessmen are hesitant to expand their businesses
for fear that labor strikes would add to their
costs at a time when margins are thin.
For
his part, JCCI president Ryukichi Kawaguchi
described the proposal to impose a strike
ban as a "good idea" and admitted
that Japanese firms in the country see labor
unrest as a major problem.
Operations of several of Japanese companies
in the country have been halted by labor strikes
since 2001. Among these companies are carmakers
Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. and Nissan
Motor Philippines Inc.
The
chamber president said that because of labor
problems, the Philippines constantly loses
out to China in terms of attracting capital
from Japan. Other problems cited were poor
local infrastructure, peace and order, hazardous
waste and taxation issues.
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