THE GOVERNMENT should set up more agricultural and industrial hubs in rural areas to provide more local opportunities for workers and, at the same time, decongest urban metropolises, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said.
Carlos Miguel S. Oñate, TUCP legislative officer, said the state’s employment plan should also include a national railway system that would connect agricultural and industrial hubs which would promote rural development and job generation.
“Particularly, in the near term, it will generate millions of construction jobs with significant multiplier effects of creating jobs throughout their supply chains,” he told BusinessWorld in an e-mail.
Mr. Oñate also said the government needs to boost its efforts to provide more environmental jobs or green jobs that would create more sustainable businesses.
Last Sept. 27, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed into law the creation of a national employment roadmap and an inter-agency body to draft a national strategy for job generation.
The recently signed law aims to boost the competitiveness of the workforce through upskilling and reskilling programs.
The interagency council, which will be headed by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Trade and Labor secretaries, will be tasked to assist local government units in implementing job recovery programs.
Last week, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said the government should develop the agriculture and aquatic sectors to provide more job opportunities for Filipinos.
Echoing this sentiment, the TUCP believes that boosting employment through agro-industrial hubs also “ensures food security by significantly reducing the time and distance between agricultural production and the markets.”
“Philippine agriculture will then grow into a highly productive industry,” it said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
