20,000 workers regularized in Central Visayas

MANILA, Philippines — More companies in Central Visayas are now voluntarily regularizing workers in support of the government’s anti-contractualization campaign, the Department of  Labor and Employment (DOLE) said over the weekend.

A total of 20,065 workers have been regularized as of June 14, according to Alvin Villamor, chief of the Central  Visayas labor department.

“The number of regularized workers we have tallied so far is at 95.54 percent of our target of 21,000 workers regularized for the year,” Villamor said.

He expressed confidence that more establishments would regularize their workers without the need for a DOLE officer to inspect or check on their compliance. 

The regularization of over 20,000 workers was a result of DOLE’s full blast inspection and campaign for voluntary compliance.

“We are happy about the rising number of establishments adhering to our call of voluntary compliance on the regularization of workers,” he said. 

Villamor said the regularized workers are mostly engaged in manpower service, retail, manufacturing, tourism, outsourcing and information technology. 

He said the labor department does not only focus on the welfare of workers hired through agencies, but also on the soundness and legitimacy of direct-hired employees.