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Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz yesterday announced that the Department of Labor and Employment and the International Labor Organization-International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC) are teaming up anew in a new project that seeks to reduce the worst forms of child labor by as much as 75%.

“From 2005 to 2008, the Gender Statistics on Labor and Employment posted a 7% downward trend in the number of children 5-17 years old who are economically active. But while the GSLE generates data on working children, there still seems to be a dearth in data on children who are in the worst forms of child labor,” Baldoz said, adding:

“This concern of the Philippine Program Against Child Labor will now be responded to with the conduct of a special survey on children, a new project of the …

Taking a proactive step to ensure and intensify the protection of Filipino seafarers from the perils of sea piracy, the Department of Labor and Employment has embarked on developing a national action plan on anti-piracy education and training.

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz said the Philippine government is party to a memorandum of cooperation on maritime counter-piracy training and education with the US forged on July 31 last year as an offshoot of the Somalian piracy incidents that have become prevalent since 2006. The DOLE is the lead agency in implementing the said memorandum.

Baldoz disclosed that the national action plan will not only be exclusively on counter-piracy measures, but would also have components on traumatic psycho-social counseling to hostaged seafarers and their next-of-kins.

Since piracy attacks on vessels passing through the Gulf of Aden gained international attention, …

DOLE says two-tiered wage setting proposal has broad support;
Will conduct tripartite consultation soon

Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz yesterday said her proposal for a review and consequent reform of the country’s current wage setting system is gathering broad support from the government’s tripartite partners, an indication that the government’s public-private partnership approach in shaping labor policy is on the right track.

“In our recent consultation meetings, our social partners already expressed support for the review and reform of the current minimum wage system towards a two-tiered wage system,” Baldoz, in a press conference yesterday, said.

Baldoz said the DOLE is currently pursuing a two-tiered wage policy reform to replace the current system of minimum wage setting, and she had instructed the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) to study the proposal.

NWPC Executive Director Ciriaco …

The Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of Product Standards (DTI-BPS), in cooperation with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), held a Workshop on ISO/IEC 27001 – Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) from 20 to 22 July 2010 at the Dusit Thani Hotel, in Makati City .

Highlights of the three-day workshop include discussions on the overview of the 27000 family of standards, specific requirements of ISO/IEC 27001, and a comprehensive guide on its implementation towards system certification.

The workshop provided relevant information on how to carry out ISMS risk assessments and selection of applicable security controls, and updates on the developments of other standards in the 27000 standards family, among others.

Spearheading the workshop was an international technical expert, Dr. Angelika Plate, who shared her knowledge and provided in depth discussions on the said topics.

ISO/IEC 27001:2005 specifies the …

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz yesterday echoed the call of workers for employers to comply with the minimum wage law and urged the employers to heed the clamor and do so.

“This is a feedback hard to ignore,” Baldoz said, citing a report of the DOLE Call Center showing that most of the workers who contacted the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) hotline have been inquiring about minimum wages and calling on employers to comply with the law.

An average of 238 workers contacted the DOLE each day from Monday to Saturday during the first six months of 2010.

Baldoz said that out of the average number of daily callers, 66% or 158 inquired on labor standards and social protection (LSP), particularly on the minimum wage law, wage distortion, and rules and regulations implementing wage orders.

She …

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today warned anew recruitment agencies and foreign employers confiscating passports and other travel documents of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as it continues to strengthen protection and welfare assistance to OFWs in line with President Aquino’s labor and employment agenda.

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz issued the warning following reports about Middle East employers allegedly confiscating and holding on to the passports of OFWs who are working for them.

At the same time, Baldoz directed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to further strengthen assistance to OFWs with grievances against their foreign employers and agencies.

One of the items in the agenda is the setting up of a “one stop shop” not only for processing applications for overseas work but also redress of OFW grievances.

Baldoz also ordered labor officials at the …