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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Group sounds alarm on women unemployment; calls for a bigger budget for social services

Group sounds alarm on women unemployment; calls for a bigger budget for social services

Published Aug 11, 2023 01:04 pm

Progressive group GABRIELA on Friday, Aug. 11 expressed concern about the increasing unemployment rate, especially among women, and called for a bigger budget to be allotted for social services.

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ALI VICOY / MANILA BULLETIN / FILE PHOTO

“Pinasisinungalingan ng papalaking bilang ng kababaihang manggagawang walang trabaho ang ibinabanderang ‘economic recovery’ ni Marcos Jr. (The increasing number of unemployed female workers contradicts President "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s flagging 'economic recovery'),” Gabriela Deputy Secretary General Rose Bihag said in a statement.

GABRIELA noted that the female unemployment rate in the country rose to 4.9 percent in June from 4.7 percent last May.

The data, the group said, is much higher than the overall unemployment rate in the Philippines, which showed 4.5 percent last June.

Read:

https://mb.com.ph/2023/8/9/fewer-filipinos-without-jobs-in-june-gov-t

GABRIELA also voiced concerns about the government's perceived inaction in addressing this issue with “one in every five new members of the labor force is unemployed.”

Since the deliberation of the upcoming budget for 2024 is set in the following weeks, the group urged Congress to address the “grim state of Filipino workers and the grave economic crisis” by ensuring “significant funding for substantial financial aid and social services.”

GABRIELA pointed out that higher funding should be “used for services, aid, and other programs that will respond to the poverty faced by millions of Filipinos.”

“Bilang ginawaran ng ‘power of the purse,’mandato ng Kongresong tiyaking mapupunta ang yaman ng bansa sa kapakinabangan ng mamamayang lumikha nito—at hindi sa bulsa ng iilan lamang (Being awarded as the 'power of the purse,' Congress mandate to ensure that the nation's wealth goes to the benefit of the people who created it—and not into the pockets of a few),” she added

GABRIELA also urged lawmakers to pass measures that will raise minimum wages to livable levels.

Among those filed are House Bill (HB) 7568, which aims for a P750 across-the-board wage hike that will bring wages closer to the estimated family living wage of over P1,150 per day; HB 4898, which calls for a standardized national minimum wage of P750; and numerous bills in the lower House and the Senate, provide for around P150 in wage relief in light of the loss in the actual value of wages resulting from inflation. (Sonny Daanoy)

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