The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) yesterday presented to Malacanang five resolutions aimed a creating a workplace for a new and better normal: resilient, sustainable, digital and attuned with the times.
The resolutions capped the two-day 43rd National Conference of Employers yesterday themed Reimagining the Future: From Policies to Actions.
Firstly, ECOP asked government to help ensure business resiliency and sustainability by collaborating with businesses and employers in addressing critical problems such as joblessness, poverty, high cost of living, food insecurity, and environmental degradation.
ECOP wants the government to take the lead in digital transformation, massive upskilling and reskilling of the Filipino workforce, and in the creation and preservation of so-called green jobs.
The group also enjoined government to create an environment that will encourage more inflows of investments as it urged for the removal of red tape and to allow ease and flexibility of doing business, protect employers’ rights to manage their business and their workforce. The group also pushes measures that would encourage productivity improvement by supporting alternative and flexible work arrangements.
Fourth resolution calls for an “all of government” and “all of society” approach in addressing jobs-skills mismatch in close collaboration with the private sector.
ECOP said this can be done by improving the basic education, higher education, and skills training systems that can help develop a world-class and globally competitive Filipino workforce equipped with 21st century skills.
Lastly, ECOP noted the need for the government to collaborate with business and employers in creating a workplace for a new and better normal.
This workplace must comply with ethical, social, health and labor standards and promote innovation, sustainable practices, diversity, equity, and inclusion, ECOP said.
The group continues to support the use of bipartism, tripartism, and voluntary modes of dispute resolutions, thereby resulting in an environment of lasting industrial peace and harmony.
The resolutions were signed by Edgardo Lacson, chairman of the board; Sergio Ortiz-Luis, president and; Antonio Sayo, NCE chair. Irma Isip