Worker-employer groups clash seen as labor group rejects “win-win” formula proposed by gov’t & employers in banning contractualization

By Associated Labor Unions
September 25, 2016

QUEZON CITY – The country’s biggest labor group rejected the proposed regularization of contractual workers at the manpower service provider level in the light of Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) campaign to ban all forms of contractual work arrangement in the country by next year.

“We reject the proposed regularization of contractual workers at the level of manpower agencies or recruitment agencies as proposed by the DTI and the employers’ group. This proposal do not address the problem of contractualization brought on the workers and it does not provide security of tenure to workers as envisioned by the Philippine Labor Code. We don’t accept such proposition,” said Gerard Seno, executive vice president of Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP).

Last week, Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez and Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion came up with a so-called “win-win” arrangement with the workers will be hired by the manpower service providers and agencies as regulars, receiving full benefits including social security, health and retirement benefits.

Under the proposition, companies would have the option to directly hire workers as regular employees or outsource them through manpower recruitment agencies to perform seasonal work.

The so-called solution was raised in view of fears by employers on the plan of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to regularized all contractual workers nationwide by 2017.

Under the Lopez and Concepcion proposition, Seno said workers are still vulnerable to exploitation and abuse because there is still no employee-employer relationship between the worker and the principal employer.

“Under the scheme, workers are denied to fair wages and social protection benefits. At any moment the contract between manpower recruitment agency contractor is rescinded, absconded, or terminated by the principal employer, workers will definitely suffer,” Seno stressed.

Seno said the ALU-TUCP is rather proposing an amendment to the provisions of the Philippine Labor Code that totally ban all forms of contractualization and prohibit all forms of fixed-term employment. Under the proposition, all workers should become regular employees directly with the company after the six months probationary period.

For his part, ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said a strong debate between workers and employers interest groups are inevitable over the policy of DOLE to regularize all contractual workers upon the instruction of President Rodrigp Duterte.

“Progressive labor groups such as ALU are well-prepared to engage employers, businesses and government to argumentation and debate on the issue. We anticipate a clash in positioning in the coming days and we are prepared to slug it out with them,” Tanjusay said.