DoLE to appeal injunction against order on PLDT workers

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said it will file a motion for reconsideration with the Court of Appeals in a bid to overturn an injunction against the enforcement of a DoLE order to PLDT, Inc. calling on the telco to grant regular status to contractual workers.

In a briefing on Wednesday, DoLE officer— in-charge Assistant Secretary and Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) Director Benjo Santos M. Benavidez said “We are filing through the OSG (Office of the Solicitor General) a motion for reconsideration” on the PLDT injunction.

On July 31, the court granted PLDT an injunction on a DoLE order to grant regular status to more than 7,000 contractual workers.

“While it is true that there are functions or activities that may be contracted out, our position is that (they) should be contracted to a legitimate contractor,” Mr. Benavidez said.

He said a legal contractor “must have the capitalization and the equipment to perform the job being contracted out.”

When asked about the prospects for the motion, he said: “There are still legal remedies and we will exhaust all legal remedies even up to the Supreme Court (SC).”

PLDT said it has no comment on the planned motion.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. —