INDEPENDENT think tank IBON Foundation Inc. has remained firm in its resolve to lobby against the ratification of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa), saying the trade pact merely highlights the Arroyo government’s insensitivity to Filipino nurses and caregivers.

“Using the so-called gains for nurses and caregivers to make acceptable a patently unequal deal like the Jpepa only shows an uncaring government that treats its labor force as mere commodities for export,” IBON research head Jose Enriquez Africa said in a statement.

While the Arroyo regime is trying to portray that the treaty is clearly advantageous for some few hundred health workers, “in reality government is using them as fodder to cover up for its severe failure in generating jobs for Filipinos,” he added.

IBON said the Japanese government has a state policy that seeks to reduce the costs of nursing and caregiving while facing the challenge of dealing with its aging population.

This situation, Africa said, has resulted in low wages and poor working conditions that even Japanese health professionals find intolerable.

IBON said that in 2004, the average annual income of nurses in Japan reached $40,000, which is much lower compared with those working in the US who received $54,000 during the same period.

Meanwhile, the development institution said female caregivers in Japan receive $25,200 annually, while males are paid as much as $40,000.

IBON also cited a survey conducted by Japan’s Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry in May 2007 which found that less than half of Japanese nursing-care license holders have turned down work in the industry because of low wages and poor working conditions.

Further, an earlier survey showed that seven in every 10 Japanese nurses feel they could quit their jobs any time due to chronic fatigue and professional disappointment.

Africa said Jpepa and other similar deals let Japan hire nurses and caregivers even more cheaply.

For instance, IBON explained, applicants who are already working will be receiving pay only as nonlicensed workers or trainees or candidates—or as nurse’s aides and caregiver’s assistants—while trying to pass the national exams after six months of language training, as provided for in the provisions of Jpepa.

IBON said that while this significantly lowers the cost of health care for the Japanese, it is done at the expense of Filipinos and other trained health professionals.

A study made by the government research arm Philippine Institute for Development Studies, whose primary client is the National Economic and Development Authority, said the benefits from the bilateral trade and investment agreement will “greatly outweigh the costs of its implementation” and “would be good for the economy.”

According to the report penned by PIDS president Josef Yap and researchers Erlinda Medalla and Rafaelita Aldaba, more than 200,000 Filipinos will move up the poverty threshold. (By Antonio Tiemsin Jr.)

FOREIGN investors are demanding that they be given a say in the crafting of the country’s Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).

FILIPINOS don’t have to be college graduates to be employed by mostly multinational firms, but they must have technical or vocational skills. 

THE Philippines has criticized the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) for its failure to assist developing countries, especially in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, to keep pace with the complexities of global economy, emphasizing that the impact of the rising food and energy prices is widening poverty in the two regions.

THE continuous increase in world oil prices has again prompted local oil companies to increase the price of diesel, gasoline and kerosene by P0.50 a liter over the weekend.

INDEPENDENT think tank IBON Foundation Inc. has remained firm in its resolve to lobby against the ratification of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa), saying the trade pact merely highlights the Arroyo government’s insensitivity to Filipino nurses and caregivers.

THE Philippines and Canada are scheduled next month to negotiate for an amended air-services agreement (ASA), flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) said.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has launched a new unit aimed at providing solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), which make up over 99 percent of the total number of enterprises in the country.