Workers and Sustainable Development

Opening address at the Trade Unions and Sustainable Development Goals: A South-South Learning Exchange and Training Workshop

By Honourable Secretary Ernesto Pernia of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), delivered by Director Mary Anne Darauay at the Sustainable Development Goals: A South-South Learning Exchange and Training Workshop, Makati City, Philippines, 2 December 2019

Distinguished participants from trade unions of the South-South member countries, our ILO partners and counterparts headed by Mr Khalid Hasan, ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant morning to all.

On behalf of Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, please allow me to extend NEDA’s appreciation to the International Labour Organization (ILO) for the invitation and for organizing this important event.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development acknowledges the important role of the entire society, ranging from the government, the business sector, academe, the general public, and trade unions in the successful implementation of the SDGs.

Allow me to read one of the opening paragraphs of the outcome document of the 2030 Agenda, which is “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” which relates well with the important role on addressing the issues of inequality and decent work:

“We resolve, between now and 2030, to end poverty and hunger everywhere; to combat inequalities within and among countries; to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies; to protect human rights and promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; and to ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources.

We resolve also to create conditions for sustainable, inclusive and sustained economic growth, shared prosperity and decent work for all, talking into account different levels of national development and capacities.”


These development objectives which we want to achieve can only be attained through the partnership and collaboration of stakeholder sin the world of work – including trade unions. Through your efforts in upholding freedom of association and collective bargaining, on promoting decent and the rights of working people, you are instrumental to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in our country. Further, your contribution in reaching consensus towards crafting polices that uphold the rights of workers has contributed to improving the landscape of work.

One way by which we monitor our progress on these concerns is through the Voluntary National Review. The VNR is part of the follow-up and review mechanism of the United Nations on the SDGs, which encourages states to conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress made at the national and sub-national levels. The VNRs seek to facilitate the sharing of experiences, challenges, and lessons learned in the planning, monitoring and implementation of the 2030 Agenda, with a view of accelerating the attainment of the global goals.

The engagement of stakeholders is key to the successful process of crafting this report. And we value the process as much as the report itself. Thus, we have conducted various consultations across the country with key stakeholders from various sectors such as non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academe, business, women and children, and trade unions. One key stakeholder that we must engage are development partners, and ensuring their alignment of their work with the government. The Partnership Framework for Sustainable Development exemplifies the alignment and coordination. This is SDG 17 on Partnerships actually.

The Philippines 2019 VNR emphasizes the synergies between government and non-government actions required to ensure inclusiveness and equality, Ang while the government is both catalyst and mobilizer of the policy framework for the SDGs, even non-government stakeholders have taken on the responsibility for the Agenda and delivering the services to the rights-holders. Most of these either directly or indirectly affect the concerns of trade unions towards holding the welfare and rights of workers.

We commend the trade unions in coming up with the 2019 Philippine Workers and Trade Union Report on the SGDs. We appreciate the report’s acknowledgment of the efforts made in consulting with trade unions. Citing the report, we note that the “level and quality of trade union and workers’ participation in the 2030 Agenda/SDGs processes at the national level is relatively advance in the Philippines compared with countries in the region.” The Philippines takes pride in the consultative process of its 2019 VNR and we are one of the few countries that made it a point to have a separate consultation with trade unions, this is on top of the regional consultations where non-government organizations also reported on the issues and concerns of the labour sector. However, we also acknowledge that while there are efforts, the extent of participation and consultations is far from ideal.

Cognizant of the need for spaces for consultation between government and trade unions, CSOs and private sector and our commitment to ensure that such spaces are made available, we note three key points for participation of non-government stakeholders during the midterm update of the Philippine Development Plan. First, there were consultations with CSOs and NGOs for the whole PDP. Second, the update was also subjected to an online review. The third one, which our Staff has closely worked on, was to make sure that for Chapter 11: Reducing Vulnerabilities of Individuals and Families, that the relevant stakeholders were consulted. There were representatives form the labour sector and there were also substantial inputs from the informal sector such as from tricycle drivers, among others. We recognize that these from each labour group, but it is through these consultations that we, as government, learn and adjust. While we continue to provide support to imporving labour productivity, as what has been emphasized in the sections of the 2019 Philippine Workers and Trade Union Report on the SDGs, there will also be stronger efforts in reducing the vulnerability of those in the informal sector and a renewed focus on supporting the gig economy.

One platform by which the government can closely work with the stakeholders on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda is through the proposed SubCommittee on the SDGs under the Development Budget Coordinating Committee of the NEDA Board. This platform will provide the overall support, guidance, and oversight function in the integration of the SDGs in the national, local, and sectoral development plans as well as in addressing the gaps of current policies and programmes to drive progress on the SDGs. Under this Committee, Technical Working Groups with Stakeholders Chamber will also be formed to address the economic, social, environmental, and peace and governance dimensions of sustainable development. We note that the trade unions and labour groups will play a key role as their concerns will address many of the interconnected SDGs. And we hope for the active participation of these groups once the platform becomes formally created. Given the scale and ambition of the SDGs, every stakeholder has a role to play. We envision the Sub-Committee on the SDGs and for non-government stakeholders to indetify gaps and areas where they can contribute.

By the end of the four-day workshop, I hope all participants can meaningfully exchange ideas and experiences on how trade unions can actively participate not just in the VNR process, but in the entire spectrum of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and accelerate its achievement. Futher, I hope that this activity will strengthen the dialogue towards the crafting of policies that will address the issues and uphold the rights of Filipino workers.

Allow me to stress that in this balancing act of negotiating the different demands from all the stakeholders made even more complex with limitations in resources, at the very least, there should be platforms to facilitate dialogue and engagement. We are both working towards sustainable development where no one is left behind and having a society with a matatag, maginhawa at panatag na buhay (strongly rooted, comfortable and secure life). Let us support and complement each other’s efforts.

I wish you a very successful workshop and remember “let’s make our initiatives matter” for all.