Empowering the Future Workforce with LEGS
From workers’ rights and obligations to the significance of labor laws for workplace success, and to the challenges graduates face when applying for jobs – These and more were tackled on May 24 during the online Labor Education for Graduating Students (LEGS) event hosted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
For those who missed the live streaming last Friday, you may still watch the replay/playback through this link.
Broadcast live on YouTube, the session aimed to equip soon-to-be UMak graduates with crucial knowledge as they transition into the workforce. DOLE-NCR Makati/Pasay Field Office Senior Labor and Employment Officer Medolyn Tariman congratulated the graduating students and delivered the main presentation. She also led the Q&A which allowed the participants to directly engage with her.
She clarified the total allowed full-time work days and allowed total full-time work hours in a week and when overtime pay is warranted, plus she elaborated on how to officially lodge complaints or report irregular labor practices directly to the assigned DOLE office which has jurisdiction over the establishment being reported and the possible repercussions or penalties.
Opening the program was DOLE-NCR Makati/Pasay Field Office Supervising Labor and Employment Officer Julita Mendoza who spoke about the importance of labor education in preparing students for their careers in her message. She highlighted the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers, and that understanding labor standards is key to future success.
The event concluded with closing remarks from CILP Linkages Officer Diana Marie Bolo, who emphasized the seminar’s value in helping students understand their rights and what to expect from employers, especially those who will enter the corporate world in the private sector.
Conducted by DOLE in collaboration with UMak’s Center for Internationalization, Linkages, and Placement (CILP), LEGS served as the culminating event of CILP to cap the school year and to send off graduating students who are more empowered and ready to navigate the modern and evolving workplace with confidence and competence.
The LEGS, as a component of the DOLE Labor Education and Employment Services (LEES) Program, enlightens, educates, and provides students with knowledge on the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers, work ethics, values, and other labor-related information that will guide and help them become responsible partners to attain harmonious labor-management relations. It supports Republic Act 11551, also known as the “Labor Education Act”, signed into law in 2021, which puts into place “a mechanism to educate future workers, employers, and entrepreneurs, on their rights and responsibilities in promoting harmony in the workplace and social progress in the society.”
(Written by Alaisa Jean Casiano)
