MANILA – Several Senate bets on Sunday laid out plans to combat age discrimination in employment and force companies to comply with an existing law prohibiting it.
During the final installment of “Harapan 2019: The ABS-CBN Senatorial Town Hall Debate,” 52-year old Imelda Arilas confronted 8 senatorial candidates and asked them what they can do to provide “teeth” to Republic Act 10911 o Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
Arilas believes her age cost her potential job opportunities she was qualified for, which made her “depressed.”
Incumbent Senator JV Ejercito said that issue is a matter of “enforcement.”
“Meron nang batas diyan… Kailangan lang ipagbigay-alam sa Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) nang sa ito’y maimbestigahan,” said Ejercito.
Jeepney manufacturer Elmer Francisco and businessman RJ Javellana both said the root cause of age discrimination on employment is the lack of available jobs. Francisco added that a “proactive” approach is to industrialize the country as this will result in more job opportunities.
“Kailanganm maipatupad nang tama ang batas… Pero ang ugat ng problema ay kakulangan sa trabaho. Kailangan natin ng pambansang industriyalisasyon. Dahil kung marami pong trabaho, sila na mismo ang maghahanap pa sayo… Law of supply and demand po ‘yan,” Francisco said.
“Ultimo ang mga kabataan may problema sa pagpasok ng trabaho. Kulang na kulang po ang mga pagawaan kasi,” Javellana said.
Lawyer Dado Padilla reiterated Francisco’s assertion that work discrimination is an issue of supply and demand.
“Kailangan nating magdagdag ng maraming trabaho,” Padilla said.
Meanwhile, lawyer Dan Roleda suggested that DOLE and local government units (LGU) sign a memorandum of agreement to institutionalize complaint mechanisms for those victimized by age discrimination.
“Magtayo tayo ng help desk na hindi lang sa age discrimination kung hindi sa iba pang discrimination,” he said.
For his part, Ernesto Arellano, a lawyer, said he will push for insurance for the displaced or dislocated workers to support them as they try to reintegrate to the workforce.
IT consultant Toti Casiño meanwhile said the government must solve the problem of “job mismatch.” He also suggested upgrading the skills of those who face age discrimination to improve their chances of getting hired.
Labor leader Leody de Guzman lamented the government’s policy for the lack of jobs available in the country.
“Iyung unemployment natin ay resulta ng policy ng gobyerno. Ang ating gobyerno ay walang patakaran to create jobs na permanente,” the labor leader said.
Under the Anti-Age Discrimination in Employment Act, employers can no longer reject applicants because of their age. (ABS-CBN News)
