6th largest nickel reserve and world leading exporter
US$1.74 billion
annual production value
US$1.47 billion
annual nickel exports
270,000
People and more employed in nickel
The Philippines is the world’s leading exporter of nickel ore and nickel products, generating around US$1.47 billion in annual revenues.
Important source of jobs and livelihoods: the mining industry employs more than 207,000 people, with nickel taking up a growing share of new employment
Key production hotspots include Caraga and Palawan, with new projects also emerging in other regions.
ILO, partners launch initiative for responsible Philippine nickel supply chains
Funded by the Government of Japan, the RISSC-Nickel project aims to advance decent work and respect for fundamental principles and rights at work in nickel supply chains by strengthening labour governance, catalysing enterprise-level improvement pathways, and aligning supply-chain actors around responsible business conduct.
Decent Work and Responsible Business Conduct are more consistently enabled and reinforced in nickel supply chains, supporting stronger respect for fundamental principles and rights at work and more inclusive and sustainable national development.
Change should be visible in several key areas:
Improved sectoral labour governance and compliance frameworks
Growing industry uptake of new RBC models and approaches
A coherent national policy vision for industry development
Greater stakeholder alignment and collaboration for a more responsible nickel supply chain
Employers and workers in the nickel sector and its supply chain
Policymakers, government agencies and other state authorities
Other key industry stakeholders, both national and international
Government: Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Trade and Industry’s Board of Investments (DTI-BOI), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine Human Rights Committee Secretariat (PHRCS)
Employers and Business Membership Organizations (EMBOs): Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP), sectoral employers’ organizations
Workers: Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), Center of United and Progressive Workers (SENTRO), Federation of Free Workers (FFW), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Alliance of Workers in the Informal Economy/Sector (ALLWIES), sectoral workers’ organizations
Other stakeholders including industry initiatives (including the Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, PH-EITI), companies in the nickel supply chain, civil society, and trading partners.
Ana Liza ValenciaNational Project Coordinator