Labor Dimension of the Japan - Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA)
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No.429 Sep. 2007 Labor Dimension of the Japan - Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) Maragtas S.V. Amante Visiting Research Fellow Monograph Series This series aim at disseminating the results of research done by Visiting Research Fellows at the Institute of Developing Economies. However, no part of this paper may be quoted without the permission of the author, since some of the results may be preliminary. Further, the findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s). Paper does not imply endorsement by the Institute of Developing Economies of any of the facts, figures, and views expressed. The Institute of Developing Economies does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. Acknowledgements I sincerely thank Ms Yurika SUZUKI, my counterpart in the IDE JETRO Southeast Asian Studies Group for her positive comments, suggestions and encouragement. I also thank the following persons who provided support and assistance in the course of my research work at the IDE JETRO between 5 Dec 2006 to 31 May 2007: z Mr Reydeluz CONFERIDO, Labor Attache, Embassy of the Philippines, Tokyo. z Mr Francis CAPISTRANO, Office of Senator Mar Roxas, Philippine Senate. z Mr Masayuki SAKURAI and Ms Yoko KANENARI, IDE Kokusai Koryu ka. z Ms Junko MIZUNO, Director-General, Inter-disciplinary Studies Center; Mr Jiro OKAMOTO; Mr Shinichi TAKEUCHI; Mr Yasuhiro NIMURA; Mr Tatsufumi YAMAGATA; Mr Hitoshi OTA; Mr Katsuya MOCHIZUKI; Ms Taeko HOSHINO, and Mr Kazushi TAKAHASHI. z IDE VRF Section Kokusai Koryu ka: Mr Takayuki SANADA, Mr Minoru MAKISHIMA, Ms Etsuko SUZUKI, Ms Hiroko INODA and Ms Chikako OTSU; Mr Shinya MOMOI; and the IDE Library for various assistance. z Professor Mitsuhide SHIRAKI, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Waseda University. z Professor Yoko SANO, emeritus professor, Keio University. z Professor Yoshiko NAGANO, Kanagawa University, Tokyo. z Mr Tadashi NAKAMURA, President; Mr Masao AIHARA, Senior Counselor and Ms Yoko ATSUKI, ILO Association of Japan, Tokyo. z Assistant Minister Kazumi MATSUI, Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare; Director Shinichi AKIYAMA, Mr Kuniomi SASAKI; Mr Naoya NISHIMOTO; Mr Kenichi KAMAE; Mr Kenichi KUROKAWA, & Ms Eriko KAMISUGI,Japan MHLW, Tokyo. z Mr Kenjiro NOZAKI and Mr Kiichi INAGAKI, Japan International Corporation for Welfare Services (JICWELS), Tokyo. z Captain Osamu HANDA, Managing Director; Mr Shunsuke YAMAWAKI, Deputy General Manager; Japan Ship owners Association; and Mr Yasuhisa TSUJIMOTO, Director General, International Mariners Management Association of Japan (IMMAJ). z Professor Hiro NAGAI, Graduate School of Business Sciences, Tsukuba University Tokyo Campus. z Mr Haruhiko HORI, Researcher; and Mr K. AKIYAMA, Japan Institute of Labor Policy and Training (JILPT), Tokyo. z Mr Toshiyuki WAKATSUKI, International Division, Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC – RENGO), Tokyo. z Mr Masahiro HACHIYA, Executive Director; and Mr Randy YU, International Care Aid Organization (ICAO), Tokyo. I also treasure the discussions and exchange of ideas with other VRFs: Mr KARMA Galay from Bhutan; Dr Jean MARARA from Rwanda; Dr John Kwabena AKOKPARI from Ghana; Dr APICHAT Satitniramai from Thamassat University, Thailand; KHIN MAUNG Soe of Myanmar; and Dr MEGHA Shukla, India. Last but not least, I thank my superior Dean Jorge V. SIBAL, School of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of the Philippines for endorsing approval of my leave of absence from U.P.; and to Ms Lilian CRUZ and Ms Letty RECALDE of U.P. SOLAIR, for various assistance. Author’s contact emails: [email protected] OR [email protected] Summary The labor dimensions of trade include, among others, the (1) movement of natural persons, (2) human resource development through training, and (3) decent work standards and compliance with labor laws. With the collapse of the Doha round of the multilateral trade negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Hong Kong in 2005, major trade players including Japan accelerated efforts to achieve “udon soba” (“mixed noodle bowl”), or “spider web” bilateral agreements with Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, as insurance on the shaky illusion of a Japan - ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Economic agreements in general have potential to stimulate the processes of equitable social development. The labor dimension in the JPEPA is noteworthy among EPAs between Japan and other countries, in the context of efforts to maximize economic and social benefits arising from trade and other economic relations. Except the loose and porous ASEAN Free Trade Agreeement (AFTA), the Philippines has no other bilateral free trade agreement. Development of capacity and serious implementation of the labor dimension especially Article 103 of the JPEPA on labor standards in investment & trade has potential to mitigate negative labor market effects arising from the exchange. Numerous studies show a link between competitiveness and the quality of labor, through good employment, favourable working conditions and human resource development practices. In addition, the capacity of enterprises to comply with decent work is linked with the development of fundamental policies and institutions to provide for good practices in industrial relations including human resource development (HRD), effective human resource management (HRM) and balanced with the exercise of workers rights. While the postwar trade balance was historically in favor of Japan, the Philippines benefited from Japanese human resource development (HRD) programs, through scholarships and training as part of official development assistance (ODA). Outside the scope of the JPEPA, there are in fact ongoing advantages in the case of Philippine seafarers in Japan shipping; remittances increased seven times between 2006 and 2002. The positive experience in this particular sector highlights the potential benefits of the labor exchange, in the area of HRD. New opportunities from the JPEPA need to be developed in the health care, information technology (IT), professions and other areas, considering the idiosyncrasies of the labor market in both Japan and the Philippines, and the costs and benefits to identify winners and losers. Language, visa rules, and lack of information are some of the non tariff barriers which need to be addressed. Case studies of Japanese investment in the Philippines show the need to raise awareness about the links between trade and labor compliance. There is a need to improve the capacity of both trading partners to implement the labor dimension of the agreement. This has implications upon efforts at regional integration in East Asia, with greater demands from the public to ensure decent work and human resource development (HRD) in the movement of natural persons among the trading partners. The case of the labor dimension in trade between Japan and the Philippines points to the need to develop capacity towards a regional framework to provide for decent work, respect for workers rights, good industrial relations; and maximize the social benefits arising from the movement of natural persons, and mitigate the negative impact. *** *** *** Profile of MARAGTAS S. V. AMANTE Dr. Maragtas S.V. Amante is a professor of industrial relations at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. He has more than 20 years experience in teaching, research and consultancy work in the areas of industrial relations, economics of human resources, and compensation. Amante graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Philippines’ School of Economics in 1983. After graduation, he was recruited into the staff of the University of the Philippines’ School of Labor and Industrial Relations. In 1986, he was granted an Asia Foundation fellowship to pursue a master’s degree in policy economics, which he finished in 1986, from the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign in the United States. His interest in Japanese human resource development led him to pursue doctoral studies in Japan, under the Mombusho (Japanese Ministry of Education) Fellowship Grant. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in 1993, from Keio University in Tokyo, under the guidance of Professor Yoko Sano, known for her strong institutionalist framework in analyzing Japan’s labor market. He was appointed Dean of the U.P. SOLAIR from 1998 to 2001 In 2002-03, he was a research fellow at the Seafarers’ International Research Centre (SIRC) in Cardiff University, in Wales, UK. His research was about Philippine seafarers, in the context of the global maritime labor market. From 2002 to 2006, Dr Amante was a consultant and facilitator with the ASEAN Secretariat and the Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. He was closely involved in a series of meetings and dialogues held in various ASEAN capitals, to develop a common regional framework of industrial relations in East Asia. Some important publications Co author with Minghua ZHAO. “Chinese and Filipino Seafarers: a Race to the Top or the Bottom?” Modern Asian Studies, Cambridge University Press. Volume 39 Issue 03 (July 2005), pp. 535-557. ASEAN Industrial Relations: Is a Regional Framework Possible? Proceedings (2004) Asian Congress of the International Industrial Relations Association (IIRA), Seoul, Korea 23- 26 June 2004. See: http://www.kli.re.kr/iira2004/pro/papers/Amante.pdf Industrial Democracy in the Rough