Industrial Relations Theories: The Youth’s High Unemployment Rate

In an aim to reduce high youth unemployment, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) created a new program in partnership with the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) known as the Youth Work PH according to an article that was published on September 13, 2018 in Philippine Star entitled, “DOLE moves to curb high youth unemployment”. With regards to this, how did the theories in industrial relations influenced this government’s move in order to address the youth’s high unemployment rate? This paper will analyze several theories and how it relates to this article to give us an overview of how they greatly influenced our times today.

One major theory in Industrial Relations is Dunlop’s Systems Theory, which was proposed in 1958. According to this, it was said that Industrial Relations Systems comprises of three actors namely the managers, workers, and governing bodies, and these actors live in one society and therefore shares a common ideology (Cara, 2015). In relation to this definition, we can see that the Philippine government, as one of the primary members of labor relations, has initiated a movement that will address the problem among youth which is the high unemployment. It has utilized its power to call on other agencies such as PBEd and USAID in order to resolve issues related to labor management. The government did not only tap on the economic side of the society, but rather, it has started from the roots which is education. The Philippine Government believes that it has to invest in its workers by starting from their training to inculcate in them work and economic related values to help build a strong foundation for a sustainable economic society. This comes from the statement of Bello (2018) wherein he stated that, “Our human capital is the key driver in promoting inclusive growth and sustainable economic development in the country, hence, developing work-based training programs for the Filipino youth is vital to prepare them for the world of work”. From here we can see that the government greatly affects it workers and managers through the trainings they provide, and this will result to having the same ideology or beliefs, depending on what they train or impose upon people. Another approach in Industrial Relations is the Pluralism. This aims to address the problem for “the equilibrium of capital and labor” more willingly than the superiority of each one. With this in mind, we can relate this approach to the move of the government to create YouthWorks PH as a step to address the need of the workers to be economically competent and prepared for the world of work to compensate the need of employers which is the need of capable and skilled workers. On one hand, if employees are skilled and knowledgeable in the field and their rights as workers, they will not be oppressed because of their ignorance in law and thus will be able to raise their rights to their employers. On the other hand, employers will be able to address these needs or rights that have been raised to them and therefore will create a harmonized relationship between the two entities.

Another perspective in Industrial Relations is the Socialism and one well known socialist is Karl Marx. This ideology in Industrial relations identifies for the communal interest rather than privatization, and according to this, people work in collaboration and with the support of one another. Therefore, all that workers create or generate is somewhat a social product, and they should be free to benefit from it, thus the society should manage this so that all of its members will gain from it. In relation to the YouthWorks PH, this move by the government to address the youth’s unemployment will not only benefit the individuals who will take part in it, but also the society. Individuals who will undergo this training will be equipped with the knowledge and skills that they need in order for them to be economically oriented and be competent in the field. Employers will be happy to hire these individuals because their skills will greatly contribute to their company’s production and thus raise their profits. This in return will affect our society by sustaining its economic growth and development. Employees will also get their share through the salaries they receive and employers will get this through the profits they earn from the production of their employees.

The government’s role now is to assure that employees are not oppressed by monitoring their proper compensation and rights are duly given to them. Another theory that influences the Industrial Relations is the Corporatism. This is defined as “a system of interest intermediation in which vertically organized and functionally defined interest groups are granted official representation in the state policymaking apparatus”. In this system, labor and business groups are represented to the state by associations which are subsidized by the state. In relation to YouthWorks PH, the education sector is represented by Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) to help in addressing the needs of the workforce when it comes to education.

This program will be monitored by the government to see if this will be fully operational and beneficial not only to the workers but also to their employers. In the article, “USAID and PBEd Launch YouthWorks PH Project for Filipino Youth”, 2018, it was mentioned that they will be working with the private sectors to provide training to the youth that will prepare them for work in the future. This proves that the business sector will also be represented in this program and will benefit from it as the individuals that will undergo this training will most likely be absorbed in their companies.

What is now the role of the state when it comes to implementing this program? Aside from taking the initiative to create it, they must assure that this is properly implemented by designating committees that will monitor and evaluate its application in the field. The government should also device a mechanism that will get feedback from the participants in this program to have an in-depth and deeply rooted evaluation of the program. If they have seen some lapses or points for improvement, they must make amendments and be able to alter some parts of the program that they deem would be useful for all who will benefit the YouthWorks PH program. In relation to this, I hope that this program of the government will be a stepping stone to produce economically and work-prepared youth in the future that will become great contributors in our society.