THE Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE)
signed on Tuesday a joint department order that sets down the guidelines for
the issuance, suspension or revocation of certificates of accreditation for
garment companies.This
order will help promote labor laws compliance and standards in the garment
industry via certification and decertification mechanisms for companies who
want to avail preferential tariff under the GSP (Generalized System of
Preferences),” said DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez in a statement.
He said despite the “changing landscape of
global trends, the production of goods and services must still conform to
international labor standards for market access.”Mr. Lopez, who is also
chairman of DTI’s Board of Investments (BoI), signed the joint order with DoLE
Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III during the two department’s joint assembly for
a program called Trabaho, Negosyo, Kabuhayan at the Philippine Trade Training
Center in Pasay City.
The accreditation certificate guidelines cover
garment manufacturers, exporters and subcontractors who plan to avail of
preferential tariffs under the GSP, a preferential tariff scheme that allows
the Philippines to export to a number of destination countries tariff-free. The
joint department order also creates a workers’ rights review committee.DTI said the move was part of the country’s
commitment to comply with global labor standards for the garments and textile
industries. It said the joint order was a product of a series of consultative
meetings of the two agencies with the Clothing and Textile Industry Tripartite
Council and labor and employment sectors since 2010.
Mr. Bello said: “The signing of the joint
guidelines for the garments industry on the certification on labor standards compliance
will ensure that our workers have decent jobs, and that they enjoy the economic
benefits that our participation in the global trade brings.”This joint issuance serves as a proof of the
Duterte administration’s resolve to ensure that Filipino workers here and
abroad can reap the just fruits of their honest labors even as their employers
gain a reasonable return of their investments while ensuring business expansion
and growth,” he added.
Source: Manila Times, Philippines Thursday, 18 May 2017