2,000 workers Eastern Visayas regularized

TACLOBAN CITY – At least 2,093 workers in Eastern Visayas have been regularized between January and midApril this year as the national government steps up is drive to end labor-only contracting or ‘endo’ the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) here reported Wednesday.

Of the number, 1,677 benefitted from the campaign when their employers voluntarily complied with the directive to stop endo.

Some 414 workers became regular employees after labor inspection activities.

DOLE Regional Director Cyril Ticao said over a thousand of the workers were regularized by the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corporation in Isabel, Leyte, the country’s largest copper smelter.

“We have been inspecting shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, food chains, gas stations, manufacturing, construction, transport, and fishing industry since these are the establishment vulnerable to labor-only contracting,” Ticao told the Philippines News Agency (PNA) on Wednesday.

The regional office only has 20 labor inspectors to check on thousands of business establishments in the region’s six provinces.

The signing of an executive order banning endo by President. Duterte on Tuesday is a big help in achieving their target of 9,000 workers to be regularized this year.

The inspection from January to April 19 has covered 53 establishments. This was pushed after conducting employer’s forum on DOLE Department Order (DO) No. 174.

On March 19, 2017, the labor department released the DO no. 174, laying down its new regulations governing contracting and subcontracting arrangements.

The DOLE adopted two tracks in eliminating illegal contractualization, including endo.

In the first track, the DOLE regional offices conducted series of consultations and meetings to encourage employers to voluntarily regularize workers under the unlawful arrangements.

For the second track, labor laws compliance officers inspected establishments, principals and contractors practicing labor-only contracting arrangements.

Those found to be engaged in laboronly contracting are subjected to mandatory conferences to assist them in their compliance with labor standards.

In 2017, about 1,733 workers were given regular employment status in six provinces of Eastern Visayas. (PNA)