Nagkaisa rejects DOLE’s draft order on “endo”

CEBU, Philippines – The broad alliance of labor groups, Nagkaisa, said that the proposed new department order (DO) on 'endo' (end of contract) of the Department of Labor and Employment is already "dead on arrival."

This after DOLE presented a working draft of the new DO during the Tripartite Executive Committee of the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council last week.

"DOLE intends to adopt what all labor groups unanimously rejected during the labor summit - the 'win-win solution' of DTI.  This could signal the end of President Duterte's campaign promise to end endo," said Danny Edralin, vice chairperson for the Private Sector of the Sentro ng Nagkakaisang Manggagawa or SENTRO.

For Nagkaisa, 'win-win' is DTI doublespeak roundly rejected as 'lose-lose' by workers.

For Partido Manggagawa (PM), the new draft DO may seem to restrict labor contracting to seasonal and project employment but these employment schemes may however be extended to cover work or services which are directly related to the business operations of a company.

PM chairman Rene Magtubo said that contractualization of labor would still proliferate in the guise of describing the job, work or service as seasonal or project employment.

The group said the DO recognizes trilateral employment relationship which has long been opposed by organized labor as it undermines workers' rights to security of tenure, to organize and collectively bargain.

For the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the proposed DO is unacceptable.

"It is a mere rehash of what current laws already provide. It gives nothing new to workers. Change requires a DO that further restricts contractualization while a new law is needed to end contractualization," said TUCP executive director Luis Corral.

Nagkaisa is likewise pushing for the passage of House Bill 4444 filed by TUCP Party-list Representative Raymond Mendoza which prohibits contractualization and calls on DOLE secretary Silvestre Bello to endorse it for certification by President Duterte as an urgent Presidential measure.

HB 4444 prohibits all fixed term contracts and criminalizes violations.

The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, on the other hand, wanted to directly challenge President Duterte to completely prohibit endo by means of an executive order.

Annie Geron, president of the Public Services Independent Labor Confederation, said that the proposed DO officializes contractualization and bastardizes Duterte's campaign platform to end contractualization.

The government is being accused by labor groups as the single biggest practitioner of contractualization in the forms of job order and contracts of service. —/JBB (FREEMAN)