Rizal 4th District Rep. Fidel Nograles
THE chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Labor and Employment expressed hope that a bill that would require employers to provide financial literacy and entrepreneurship programs to their employees would get the nod of Congress.
“As we try to cope with rising prices of goods, the prevalence of financial scams and predatory loaning, such programs could be a big help to employees. I hope that our colleagues will recognize the need for this measure and pass it,” Rizal 4th District Rep. Fidel Nograles said.
Nograles’ committee on Wednesday approved and consolidated various bills (House Bills 1633, 4389, and 4752) that would mandate employers to provide financial literacy and entrepreneurship programs to their workers.
The financial literacy programs would include 1) behavioral finance, 2) savings, 3) emergency resilience fund development, 4) debt management, and 5) investment, insurance, and retirement planning.
The lawmaker emphasized the importance of financial literacy and an entrepreneurial mindset, as he touted that the measure would also provide a platform for aspiring and deserving employee-entrepreneurs to avail of grants or loans to fund their enterprise.
“Malaki ang maitutulong ng pinansyal na kaalaman sa pagpapaganda ng buhay ng mga manggagawa. Financial literacy will help them identify areas that they can tap to stabilize and improve their family’s finances and avoid crippling debt,” Nograles said.
Earlier, Nograles had expressed support for the Department of Education’s plan to provide teachers legal and financial advice to protect them from falling prey to loan sharks.
He also offered the services of Lakbay Hustisya, a legal aid foundation that he founded, towards this aim. Lakbay Hustisya provides free legal consultations to indigent inmates.
The Nograles committee also approved HBs 2312 and 4295, which grant survivorship benefits to the surviving legitimate spouse of a deceased chairperson, commissioner or labor arbiter of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), and several committee reports on various substitute bills.
These are: 1) HBs 347, 1516, 1936, 2288, 2354, 2798, 4099, 4565, 4684, 4759, and 5791, which provide mechanisms for the recognition, integration, and transition of workers, enterprises and organizations in the informal economy to the formal economy; 2) HB 407, protecting the rights of all workers and workers’ organizations and unions from interference by their employers or public authorities or their agents; 3) HBs 1518 and 5141, strengthening union organization and disallowing cancellation of union registration;
4) HB 4943, establishing reforms in the regulation of collective bargaining agreement of management and employees’ bargaining unit in an establishment; 5) HBs 5536, 5789, and 7096, rationalizing the exercise of the assumption of jurisdiction authority of the Secretary of Labor and Employment over labor disputes by adopting for the purpose the essential services criteria; and 6) HBs 2290 and 6810, institutionalizing and expanding the National Employment Recovery Strategy to a National Employment Action Plan.
