The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has launched a joint project with Canada to strengthen efforts to protect workers and eliminate child labor in the Philippines.
DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said the project, which also aims to enhance freedom of association, will run from 2024 until 2029.
“We are optimistic that the initiatives included in this project would make a major contribution to our efforts to support the Philippine Program Against Child Labor (PPACL) and to realize the objectives of the Freedom of Association (FOA) roadmap,” Laguesma said.
The five-year initiative, implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and funded by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), is expected to make substantial progress.
“I wish that this formal launch of the project be the first big step towards the realization of a child-labor-free Philippines where FOA is respected and responsively nurtured to the fullest for the benefit of the workers in particular and the Filipino nation in general,” Laguesma added.
Last June, the DOLE faced criticism as the Philippines was listed among the top 10 worst countries for workers for the eighth consecutive year, according to the 2024 Global Rights Index.
Workers have expressed dissatisfaction with stagnant labor reforms and low unionization rates.
In May, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. pledged to improve worker conditions but did not outline specific plans.
The PPACL seeks to eradicate child labor by the end of Marcos’ term through the protection, withdrawal, healing, and reintegration of child workers while addressing extreme poverty—its main cause.
According to the latest tally from the Philippine Statistics Authority, there are around 935,000 child laborers in the country, mostly working in the agricultural sector.