The Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) participated in the Fairwork Philippines Stakeholders’ Forum, titled “Makatarungang Trabaho, Nakabubuhay na Kinabukasan Para sa App Workers,” held on November 13 via Zoom.

ILS Deputy Executive Director Atty. Mary Grace L. Riguer-Teodosio represented the Institute as a panel member. In her presentation, she emphasized the rise of the platform economy as a game changer in recognizing workers’ rights in terms of occupational safety and health, freedom of association, and social protection, specifically social security for platform workers. She also highlighted policy considerations, emerging issues, and proposals on how to move forward in promoting decent work for platform workers, mentioning laws and proposed bills, such as the Freelancers Protection Bill and the recently enacted Philippine Creative Industries Development Act.

Other panel members included Julius Cainglet, vice president for research, advocacy, and partnerships from the Federation of Free Workers, and Geoffrey Labudahon, national coordinator of RIDERS-SENTRO.

Prof. Virgel Binghay, co-investigator of Fairwork Philippines and director of the Center for Industry Productivity and Competitiveness at the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations, welcomed the participants. This was followed by the introduction of the Fairwork Project, which was presented by Dr. Tobias Kuttler, research associate at Fairwork and WZB Social Science Centre. The Fairwork PH 2023 results and consultation for the 2024 scoring round were presented by Fairwork PH Principal Investigator Prof. Cheryll Soriano of De La Salle University, while the key policy reform points were highlighted by Fairwork PH Legal Consultant Atty. Jayvy Gamboa of the Ateneo Policy Center.

Fairwork Philippines is an organization advocating for the recognition of the rights and welfare of workers in the gig economy, following the principles of fairness in income, working conditions, contracts, management, and representation.

This was the third stakeholder's forum organized by Fairwork Philippines and attended by government agencies, media, civil society organizations, labor unions, and platform companies.  The event was conducted in partnership with the Institute for Labor Studies and the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations.

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