Analysts raise exploitation concerns over EBET Law
by Almira Louise S. Martinez, Reporter
The Enterprise-Based Education and Training (EBET) Framework Act can help address the job-skills mismatch but could also be a gateway for exploitation if not properly regulated, analysts said on Thursday.
“We’re all for equipping workers with future-ready skills, but let’s keep it fair, keep it ethical, and—most importantly—keep it from turning into an exploitative loophole,” Federation of Free Workers (FFW) President Jose Sonny G. Matula told BusinessWorld in a Viber chat.
Mr. Matula said that the EBET act allows longer apprenticeship programs, which, if not properly regulated, could turn into “glorified unpaid internships.”
“That’s not skills development; that’s just cheap labor with a fancy name,” he said.
National President of Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino Renecio “Luke” S. Espiritu said that “safeguards for security of tenure, non-diminution of benefits, and free-of-charge insurance in medium to high-risk industries” must be in place to protect the rights and welfare of trainees and apprentices under the programs.
Mr. Espiritu added that opportunities under EBET programs must be accompanied by “strong and robust” industries that will ensure that this law would be beneficial for national development and not just for “foreign benefit.”
“The job mismatch or underemployment has been both a persistent and prevalent problem for Filipino laborers for decades now and we welcome solutions to address this long overdue problem,” he said.
“But (we) must also be wary of the export-oriented nature of wanting to address the global workforce demand,” he added.
Linking educational institutions
Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) Executive Director Justine B. Raagas said in a press release that linking educational institutions with industries can help eliminate job mismatch and create a “future-ready” Filipino workforce.
“It is one thing to know which jobs are in demand, and another to ensure that the workforce has the necessary skills to meet those demands effectively,” Ms. Raagas said.
Under the Republic Act No.12063 or the EBET Framework Act, the State shall “promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all”.
It stated that workers could upskill and learn new skills through training programs that leads to a secured “quality employment and/or obtain entrepreneurial known-how”.
The training allowance for each trainee shall not be lower than seventy-five percent (75%) of the applicable minimum wage rate.
Trainees may undergo up to eight hours of training per day, subject to the enterprise’s discretion. For overtime cases, trainees are subject to an additional 25% of the hourly rate for every additional training hour, limited to two hours per day.
In November 2024, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., during the law’s signing, said the training programs through public-private partnerships would help the current workforce cope with the rapidly changing, technology-driven job market.
“If we are successful in doing this, before a student or a trainee is finished with their training, there already is an available space in the labor market waiting for them,” he said in a speech.
