Message at the 45th Anniversary of TUCP: “Workers Unite!: Rise Up and Square Up to the Pandemic Towards a New Normal of Decent Work and Empowered Unionism”

By Mr Khalid Hassan, Director, ILO Country Office for the Philippines at the 45th Anniversary of TUCP, 14 December 2020 Manila, Philippines via Zoom

Statement | Manila, Philippines | 14 December 2020
Good day brothers and sisters!

Warm greetings and congratulations to all of officers, members, affiliates and networks of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on its 45th Anniversary.

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected millions of workers and enterprises in many countries globally, including the Philippines.

Workers and their families were deeply affected. Health, social care workers and essential service workers are on the frontline to keep families and communities safe. In the meantime, workers who lost their jobs suffer its impact.

The pandemic has exacerbated already existing decent work deficits and challenges in the world of work. The situation has worsened due to series of typhoons that hit the country, which damaged properties and livelihoods of many Filipinos.

Many workers and their families are still trying to recover from these challenges. We need to heal, recover and build back better as one to emerge stronger. No group, country or region can do this alone. We need strong social dialogue and global solidarity.

Unions such as TUCP play an important role to build back better through decent work and a human-centred approach. The ILO will be a partner in this endeavour.

In the Philippines, the framework for partnership is the Decent Work Country Programme for 2020-24. This document is an outcome of extensive social dialogue processes, reflecting the priorities and strategies of workers, employers and government.

Trade unions and workers organizations are vital in achieving the DWCP, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The DWCP can be a tool for unions to effectively engage with the UN system to articulate the workers perspectives and the decent work agenda in the the Socioeconomic and Peacebuilding Framework,

The actions and choices we make will directly affect the lives of many people, and how we will emerge as one.

Urgent, large-scale, integrated, policy measures are needed, focusing on four pillars to support enterprises, employment and incomes; stimulate the economy and jobs; protect workers in the workplace; and, use social dialogue between government, workers and employers to find solutions.

The response needs to be equitable and inclusive, and the ILO stands ready to support in building back better and leaving no one behind.

The TUCP as voices of workers has a major role to ensure that recovery is job-led, inclusive and fair, and to achieve priorities under the DWCP towards a better future of work.

Again, congratulations to TUCP! Wishing you the best as you rise and face new challenges ahead, and serve as the voice of workers to build a better future of work.

Thank you and Mabuhay!