A LABOR group is seeking accountability from the participants of the European Union-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Commemorative Summit in Brussels next week on the issue of climate change and labor rights.
Federation of Free Workers (FFW) Vice President Julius Cainglet said the EU should pressure the Philippine government and other ASEAN members to address the issue of labor rights violations within their regional bloc.
“We want them to make sure the manufactured products that cross borders [are] not the result of slave labor, child labor for a comprehensive working conditions,” Cainglet said.
In his speech during the ongoing 17th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting (APRM) in Singapore of the International Labour Organization, the workers spokesperson, Felix Anthony, raised concern on the reported rampant labor rights violations in three ASEAN countries, namely Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines.
FFW together with other labor groups are calling for an end on such attacks in the said countries.
For its part, ASEAN should call on the EU to commit to addressing climate change, the labor leader said.
He noted the carbon footprint of Europe, the Americas, and China have caused extreme weather events which devastated other countries, including the Philippines.
“That is one accountability which should be addressed because climate change affects us all,” Cainglet said.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. is expected to attend the EU-ASEAN Summit on Dec. 14, 2022.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier said among the possible topics to be discussed in the summit is the pending free trade agreement between EU and ASEAN.