Employment contractualization

Dear Marichu,

 Anent to your column titled “Keep wage fixing depoliticized,” published today May 4), kindly note that I am the author of both Republic Acts 6727 and 6715.

I fully agree that wage fixing should not be politicized as this has already been set by law — RA 6727. I also authored the last legislated wage increase of P25 across the board in 1989.

May I just clarify the mis-appreciation of RA 6715.

There are two salient features of RA6715: (1) regionalization of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) to fast track the resolution of labor cases, and (2) to protect security of tenure. The law provides that after six months of employment (including broken employment of six months within a period of one year) a worker automatically becomes a regular employee.

There is nothing in the RA 6715 that authorizes contractualization.

Contractualization has its roots in PDD 442 or the Labor Code of the Philippines, when DOLE Secretary Quisumbing, promulgated DO 10 defining legitimate labor contractors/local employment agencies.

The practice of hiring and firing workers after five months of employment is practiced my many employers and HR practitioners to circumvent the provisions of RA 6715.

I did not wrest the TUCP Presidency from Congressman Raymond Democrito Mendoza. Raymond is not an officer of the TUCP. But he became the TUCP Partylist Representative because of his father.

I had succeeded as TUCP President in accordance with the TUCP Constitution, following the resignation of former TUCP President Democrito T. Mendoza effective November 1, 2011 (a copy of the resignation letter is attached). The TUCP Executive Board meeting on November 9, 2011 accepted Brother Mendoza’s resignation and voted him as President Emeritus. The TUCP General Council meeting on January 27, 2012 reaffirmed that Brother Mendoza was no longer President and that I had succeeded under the Constitution.

TUCP’s two parent organizations — International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Asia Pacific in Singapore and ITUC in Brussels have endorsed my Constitutional succession as TUCP president. (Copies of the ITUC AP letter re: TUCP presidency and the ITUC AP Regional Executive Board Statement are attached.)

On 16 March 2012, I was also elected president, together with other TUCP officers in a TUCP special convention at Club Filipino in Green Hills, San Juan.

However, Brother Mendoza attempted to take back his resignation and continues to claim that he is still TUCP president. It’s pathetic. Please understand that he is already 89 years old.

We are done with dynastic rule in TUCP. We will not allow another one to take over. — ERNESTO F. HERRERA, TUCP President