Soaring joblessness

THE LATEST Social Weather Stations survey showed that joblessness has reached an estimated 10 million among Filipino adults during the third quarter of 2019. Joblessness climbed to 21.5 percent.

We are worried over its consequent effects to children and poor families.  This rise in unemployment is due to weak economic programs of the government and its failure to end labor contractualization. Despite the hype of government’s “Build, Build, Build” project, the economy remains unable to generate enough jobs with decent wages. As a result, the affected families still faced huge barriers in making ends meet.

The increase in unemployment rate usually comes with a spike in hunger and malnutrition, with parents having a hard time providing for the education and health needs of their children, especially that such services are mostly privatized.

The issue of joblessness and low wages are old problems that have immense impact to a great number of children living in urban centers. However, the government seems to disregard the clamor of the working class for genuine reforms. For instance, the promise to end labor contractualization has not been fulfilled. At the same time, workers struggle to sustain their families with the meager minimum wage. High prices of basic commodities aggravate the condition of poor families.

The lack of jobs opportunities will further push workers to seek employment abroad. In this situation, many children will be further deprived of the chance to live under the care of their parents who resort to working abroad in order to provide them a better living condition. We’ve seen the social cost of migration and its negative consequences. Children of overseas Filipino workers tend to become more vulnerable to abuses and other forms violence.

If the situation continues, other child protection concerns will also worsen such as child labor, prostitution, online sexual exploitation of children, among others. We urge the public to persist in demanding for economic programs that will benefit marginalized families. The government should focus on generating jobs with decent wages and take appropriate legislative action to end all forms of labor contractualization.