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GABRIELA: Population control does not solve unemployment


A women’s rights group has criticized the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for aligning with government’s population control policy to address unemployment and poverty. “Urging women to limit their number of children in order to have a job, to increase their productivity, or to receive incentive bonuses at work is discriminatory, deceptive and downright ‘anti-choice,’" according to a statement released by GABRIELA late Tuesday. As of this posting, Director Nicon Fameronag of the DOLE Communications Office could not be reached for comment. Labor Undersecretary Lourdes Trasmonte had said in a press briefing on Monday that the department would convince workers to think about family size, saying that work productivity is affected by family size. She added that family planning and responsible parenting is part of the Labor Code. Transmonte said that their plan, which GABRIELA said is part of the six-year Philippine Labor and Employment Plan, puts them on the side of Reproductive Health (RH) Bill. Supporting the RH bill GABRIELA had earlier reiterated their support for the bill. The group, however, did not agree with DOLE’s rationale for supporting the bill. “DOLE’s stance on pushing population control to induce an imaginary scenario of rising employment and labor productivity is both anti-women and anti-people," according to GABRIELA. The Philippine Labor and Employment Plan 2011-2016 is in line with the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016, which seeks to attain inclusive growth during the Aquino administration’s six-year term. GABRIELA secretary general Lana Lebanon called the move, “isang malaking kalokohan," saying that the department’s stance “reeks of victim blaming." “So, kababaihang manggagawa pa ang sinisisi sa unemployment at kahirapan," Linaban said. Instead of focusing on family planning to ease unemployment, government should work on creating jobs that would sustain a family’s needs, she said. “Addressing poverty necessitates pro-people economic planning, not family planning. Poverty in the country can only be addressed if true development — national industrialization and genuine agrarian reform — is put at the core of government policy," Linaban said. — VS, GMA News

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