THE amended Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) Convention has imposed stricter rules on the hours of work for the shipping lines’ crew members when at sea but little has been made to address piracy. Read the rest of this entry »

THE TRADE Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has asked the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) to reconsider the P22 daily minimum wage hike ordered by its Metro Manila Board and reiterated the P75 increase the labor group sought. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the items on President Gloria Arroyo’s 10-point agenda is to balance the budget by “collecting the right revenues and spending on the right things.” Her administration has fallen short of the target. Revenues have increased but expenses have soared—partly because of the need to pump prime the economy and create a dynamic economy. Read the rest of this entry »

ONE of the accomplishments of the Arroyo administration is the creation of the Nautical Highway System using roll-on, roll-off (roro) vessels. It has reduced passenger and cargo transport costs as well as travel time within the Philippines. This is only part of the administration’s great accomplishments in infrastructure building in terms of roads, bridges and other physical facilities. Read the rest of this entry »

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and five government agencies joined hands in launching the “Kabayanihan” program, integrating various social protection services for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Read the rest of this entry »

Dismissed employees of broadcasting giant ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. accused the company’s chairman, Eugenio Lopez III, of unfair labor practices, including union busting. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear PAO,

The company where I worked was one of the companies that suffered recession in 2008. In 2009, the company closed its office after it declared bankruptcy. All the employees were terminated but we were not given our respective separation pay. Two months after the closure, we heard that the company reestablished its operation under the same management. But the rank-and-file employees were all newly hired. What are my rights concerning this matter?

Bat Read the rest of this entry »

Under President Gloria Arroyo’s watch, the former US Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Base have developed to become an important part of a premier Asan integrated logistics base. After President Arroyo’s nine years in office, the vast Subic-Clark Corridor has become one of the more important investment havens in the country. Read the rest of this entry »

Data from the Office of the President show that from 2004 to Nov 2009, a total of 14.2 million jobs were generated. This is 237 percent of the low-end six million target and 142 percent of the high-end 10-million target stated by President Gloria Arroyo in the 10-point legacy development agenda Read the rest of this entry »

During the Arroyo years, electrification of 99 percent of all barangays was achieved.

Access to water and electricity in barangays across the country improved remarkably over the past decade, data and statements from government agencies disclose. Jesus Tamang, Department of Energy director, said that as of March 31, 2010 the government has accomplished the electrification of more than 99 percent of all the country’s 42,000 barangays. Only 77 percent of barangays had electricity in 2001. Read the rest of this entry »