Labor-Management Education

We need not wait for Sen. Miriam Santiago's bill (Plain Language Act) to be signed into law before taking efforts to improve and promote clear communications among government offices. Government agencies should improve their communication system even before the bill takes its first reading in Congress.

Take, for instance, the initiative of the Bureau of Labor Relations to simplify the approach in educating the workers, would-be workers, once-upon-a-time workers, and even the employers (yes, sometimes they need to be reeducated) on the complexities of labor and employment. The BLR has recognized the need to do so because many workers, even those who have retired from employment, still do not know their rights at work…And because some employers, even the bigger companies, continue to violate the constitutional rights of the workers.

Thus, the need to restructure and redesign the approach in educating the Filipino workforce  in such a way that the workers easily understand information on labor and employment through written words is indespensable. Restructuring and redesigning the approach would mean departing from the “governmentalese” way of communicating.    

This is where the plain language bill comes into the picture. Workers should be given “clear, concise and well-organize” information for them to have easy access to livelihood and employment opportunities and ensure that theirs rights at work are protected. Again, just to emphasize, information dissemination should be done using plain and simple language.

If, for instance, information is to be developed in a question-and-answer format, it must be done in such a way that is it easily understood by all kind of workers – either by college or elementary graduates. Using these guidelines as provided by a government communication expert may be of help:     

1. Use simple and non-technical language and keep in mind the adage that “there is beauty in simplicity."
2. Questions must be direct.
3. Answers must be to the point, clear and precise.
4. The active voice produces the simplest and shortest statement. Avoid the passive voice, which is the most common illness of governmentalese lingo.
5. Keep sentences short, paragraphs even shorter.

The question, however, is that: how plain is plain and how simple is simple? Is there a hard and fast rule on the use of simple language? One could argue that what is simple to some may not be simple to others. Or what is simple to others may not be simple to some. 

This may be true to a certain extent, but the bottom-line is how the message is developed. The Plain Language Act, I believe, can help solve the issue on the use of simple English language, as it requires government agencies to adopt clear guidelines in communicating with the public once it is passed into law. It will help boost not only the government’s labor education program but the entire government communication system as well.