SYDNEY, Australia – The former directors of building materials giant James Hardie Industries NV misled investors about their ability to compensate victims of its asbestos products, an Australian court was told Monday in the opening of a civil trial against the embattled company. Read the rest of this entry »

Download the text in PDF format

The massive dislocation of families due to the raging armed conflict in Mindanao has spurred the trafficking of children, Rep. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza of Cotabato warned Sunday.

“A growing number of young girls and boys whose families have been displaced by constant armed strife have become extremely vulnerable to trafficking by illegal job recruiters and all sorts of predators,” Taliño-Mendoza said. Read the rest of this entry »

Following the bankruptcy of US investment giant Lehman Brothers, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) slammed the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for lack of transparency on its overseas investments. Read the rest of this entry »

Sinuportahan ng pinakamalaking organisasyon ng mga manggagawa sa bansa ang bagong visa program ng Bureau of Immigration (BI) na magbibigay ng “indefinite stay” sa mga negosyanteng mamumuhunan at kukuha ng 10 Pinoy workers o higit pa. Read the rest of this entry »

Malacañang aims to bring before the United Nations the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) recruitment of children as fighters.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the government has photographs to show that the MILF is using children in combat.

The photographs were seized by troops from captured MILF camps, he added. Read the rest of this entry »

by Ernesto F. Herrera
from The Manila Times

CAN age have something to do with one’s ability to do a job? I would have to say it could. But don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating age discrimination. I am in fact very much against it. But age can have a bearing in a worker’s qualifications for a certain job in a positive way. Because the older you are, the more experience you have in your previous jobs, in previous careers even. And the skills and experience you have gained throughout your working life will serve you well should you wish to continue working after retirement perhaps, or should you wish to transfer careers later on. Read the rest of this entry »

by Rene Martel
from The Manila Times

ADHERING to the tried and tested adage that if you can’t beat them join them, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines—concerned by the high price of medicines—is well on the way establishing a network of outlets to help resell high quality, low-priced medicines to marginal families, particularly those dependent on fixed-wage earners. Read the rest of this entry »

THIRTEEN girls aged 13 to 15 and recruited in Quezon City ended up being sold as prostitutes at P600 each to fishermen in Infanta, Quezon.

The victims are out-of-school youths and residents of Batasan Hills, Quezon City. Read the rest of this entry »

Cito Beltran
Philippine Star

What you trained for all your life is not necessarily your destiny.

This “gem” of a thought came to mind as I watched the animated movie “Kung Fu Panda”. I must confess that I am my daughter’s equal when it comes to being cartoon movie addicts. Perhaps I am a child at heart or a hopeless optimist, but to be sure, today’s “cartoons” and “Disney movies” are loaded with lessons and wisdom for those who seek and not for those who will not see. Read the rest of this entry »