Policy Issue
In 2024, the Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) conducted a study titled “Benchmarking of Company Practices in Labor Standards Compliance and Labor-Management Relations” (Benchmarking study). The study primarily focused on documenting best practices in managing labor rights risks, as well as identifying challenges and gaps in the implementation of labor-related government policies, with management and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) locators as key stakeholders. The results of the study show that, in general, companies comply with national labor laws. Companies provide remuneration, fair opportunities, and benefits. To address forced labor and child labor issues, companies implement new supply chain practices such as age verification, promotion of inclusion, diversity, and gender equality in the workplace. In relation to occupational safety and health (OSH), companies go beyond complying with national regulations toward international recognition through Environmental Health and Safety certifications. Grievance mechanisms are also present, notwithstanding low union presence.
In the spirit of tripartism and continuous commitment to compliance with international labor standards and the creation of an enabling environment for industrial peace, the current study aimed to validate the results of the Benchmarking study. This validation, viewed through the lens of both organized and unorganized workers, as this follow-up project was designed to do, is essential to discovering perceived obstacles to implementation, exploring the complexity of labor-management relations, and constructing evidence-informed policy pathways to genuinely improve labor standards and achieve industrial peace (International Labour Organization, 2022). Their perspectives are not additional, but key to assessing how companies’ stated commitments are realized in actual working conditions and the protection of rights.