Sen. Tulfo’s Bill Aims to Keep Workers From Losing Jobs to AI
Multiple tech companies have announced mass retrenchments tied to AI this year, according to Philstar Life. In the Philippines, a 2024 Microsoft-led study found 86 percent of knowledge workers using generative AI at work. A new Senate bill deals with what happens to those workers when AI takes over their tasks.
Four things your employer would have to show
Sen. Erwin Tulfo filed Senate Bill No. 2563 to amend the Labor Code and protect Filipino workers from being displaced by AI. Under it, a company could lay off workers for AI automation only if it meets four conditions. The AI was introduced to workers in good faith. The adoption can be shown to cut costs or improve efficiency. The criteria for choosing who goes are fair and reasonable. The employer has no other viable solution besides retrenchment.
Retrenchment would be the last resort.
Reskilling comes first
Employers introducing AI that could cost jobs would have to reskill their existing employees before resorting to layoffs. Workers who are still let go would get reskilling and redeployment opportunities.
Notice and separation pay
The employer would have to notify the Department of Labor and Employment at least six months before the planned termination. Separation pay would be at least two months’ salary, or two months’ pay for every year of service, whichever is higher. Tulfo said the concern reaches past careers to the “livelihood and lives of the employees’ families.”
Where it stands
On Nov. 6, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro told a press briefing that Malacañang could not say which industries were most at risk from AI. She said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Filipino workers to upskill and reskill in the “AI-era.”
Tulfo’s bill was reported on Nov. 9. It has been filed and has not been passed.
