A worker’s party-list group on Wednesday expressed willingness to collaborate with the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (OSAPIEA) on a pro-labor rights pivot to make the Philippines a prime destination for foreign direct investments.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) vice president Luis Corral said the group is ready to partner with the current administration to address economic obstacles and fulfill investment pledges to establish the Philippines as a global investment hub.

“We stand ready to partner with the Marcos Administration, especially Secretary Frederick Go, to promote progressive, worker-centered, and race-to-the-top labor relations to attract investors to set up shop here and generate more and better jobs for all because trade is inextricably tied to the full and free exercise of workers’ rights,” Corral said in a statement.

Corral said for the Philippines to be the priority investment destination, particularly of the United States, the government should prioritize workers’ rights in its labor and employment policies.

He said the need to amplify the right of workers’ freedom of association, which includes the right to organize, should also be addressed.

To upgrade the investment and employment potential of the Philippines, he said the long-pending priority labor legislation on security of tenure and freedom of association should be enacted.

Speedy competent investigation and resolution of cases of labor rights violations are also the “levers” to a pro-labor rights pivot, he noted.

“This pro-labor rights pivot serves as an international seal of good housekeeping for sustainable businesses either to invest in the Philippines or to export tariff-free to foreign markets, generating more and better jobs for Filipino working families,” he said. (PNA)