The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) expressed disappointment on Sunday over the Philippines' inclusion in the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)'s list of the 10 worst countries for workers.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma described the country's low rating for its labor sector as "saddening and unacceptable."

Laguesma’s reaction followed the eighth consecutive year the country has appeared on this list. The 2024 Global Rights Index assigned the Philippines a rating of 5, signifying "no guarantee of rights."

According to the report, countries with this rating are among the worst places in the world for workers.

“While the legislation may spell out certain rights, workers have effectively no access to these rights and are therefore exposed to autocratic regimes and unfair labor practices,” the ITUC report said.

It highlighted the murders of labor leaders Alex Dolorosa and Kilusang Mayo Uno organizer Jude Thaddeus Fernandez, noting that “workers and unions in the Philippines remained at the mercy of red tagging (being blacklisted by the government as a communist subversive and branded an extremist), violence, abductions and arbitrary arrests.”

Laguesma questioned the ITUC's assessment, suggesting that the actual condition of the labor sector in the Philippines might not be as dire as portrayed.

“If we look at the basis of their rating, they gave us a five; it says there is no guarantee of rights and the workers do not have access. What kind of access do we need to show?” he asked.

“It is unreasonable that we would be given a rating of 5,” the DoLE chief said, arguing that ITUC's report does not reflect the broader reality of the labor sector in the Philippines.

“Maybe the only thing that should be looked at objectively is the real situation in our country,” Laguesma said, adding that the views of a few labor leaders do not represent the general labor leadership in the Philippines.

He suggested that many labor leaders feel they have opportunities to communicate their requests and appeals to the government.

The ITUC's list for 2024 also includes Bangladesh, Belarus, Ecuador, Egypt, Eswatini, Guatemala, Myanmar, Tunisia and Turkey.