THE Philippines may appear upbeat on the 4th industrial revolution, or the age of digitization, but experts on Thursday argued the country is far from adapting fully to the new labor trend.
Reynaldo C. Lugtu Jr. of Hungry Workforce Consultancy said data may be the new oil in this day and age, but the Philippines is still far behind in utilizing digital technologies to boost its productivity. He said most domestic firms are still in the process of automation, or the highlight of the 3rd industrial revolution—a step lower from the current trend of digitization.
“We are not yet even capitalizing on the 3rd industrial revolution. What more in the 4th industrial revolution? The 3rd industrial revolution is still being adapted by many organizations and companies in the Philippines. We have to fully capitalize on that first,” Lugtu said in a forum hosted by the University of the Philippines (UP) and Ayala Corp.
Lugtu added this is the reason the country will most likely not benefit yet from the promise of productivity increase under the 4th industrial revolution. An acceleration of 50 percent in productivity, he explained, is one of the most enticing advantages of instituting digitization in businesses, apart from lower barriers between inventors and markets, improved quality of lives and technological innovation.
“A few companies and organizations are starting to play along well with the 4th industrial revolution technologies. However, we are not yet ready to take this new job trend as a whole,” Lugtu argued.
On the other hand, economist Emmanuel F. Esguerra of UP said the government and employers must address first the issues raised against the 4th industrial revolution, which are primarily on the relations of labor and capital.
“The issues raised by the gig economy and nonregular employment contracts call for a rethink of labor laws in light of rapid technological and organizational changes,” Esguerra pointed out.
He believes the rise of the gig economy—or the subset of independent and freelance workers—under the new labor trend is advantageous while, at the same time, risky. For one, workers under the gig economy are not covered by benefits normally granted to regular employees, Esguerra said.
Expect more gig economy workers in the coming 4th industrial revolution, Esguerra added, as digitization puts at risk routine, manual and blue-collar jobs. “Faster replacement of jobs will take place in developed economies than in developing countries,” he said.
Nonetheless, the economist agrees with Lugtu that much work needs to be done in integrating local businesses with the global digital trend.
“The economy is still largely dualistic, and I don’t know if that is good, but it will buy us some time [to adopt to the changes of the 4th industrial revolution]. There is still high incidence of informality and underemployment in our labor sector, too,” Esguerra explained.
Moreover, the fact that more than 30 percent of the country’s labor force is still in agriculture will certainly slow the process of digitization in the Philippines. Until there are prevailing issues on agrarian reform and land ownership, Esguerra said the Philippines is far from the effects of the 4th industrial revolution.