Labor groups reject ‘endo’ compromise
LABOR groups on Wednesday stood pat on their proposal seeking a “win-win” situation with business groups, saying that any compromise on the issue of work contracting or ‘endo’ will be rejected.
The Nagkakaisa Labor Coalition (Nagkaisa), a coalition of 49 labor centers, federations and workers’ organizations, said the issue on contractualization stops at the Office of the President.
The group, through spokesman Alan Tanjusay, said that any compromise, as hinted by President Rodrigo Duterte, outside of the proposed Executive Order (EO) submitted by the labor groups is unacceptable.
“The labor-drafted EO which seeks to bring back direct hiring and institutionalize prohibition as the general rule on contractualization but recognizes that there are types of jobs that can be contracted out as along as it passes through consultation with the National Tripartite and Industrial Peace Council (NTIPC) is the fairest middle ground or “compromise” that labor can take. A watered-down version of an EO is unacceptable,” it said.
Duterte on Tuesday admitted ending endo is difficult. ‘Endo’ workers are those who have a five-month contract, thus the company they work with are not required by law to hire them as regular workers.
“I do not think that I can really give [the workers] all [they want] because we can- not force the capitalists to… if there is no money, or if they do not want to or if the workers are lazy,” the President said.
A draft EO on ‘endo’ was submitted by the labor groups to Malacañang on May 9, 2017.
Section 2 of the draft EO states: “Contracting or subcontracting when undertaken to circumvent the worker’s rights to security of tenure, self-organization and collective bargaining and peaceful concerted activities pursuant to the 1987 Philippine Constitution is hereby strictly prohibited. Security of tenure refers to the direct hiring relationship between the principal employer and employee.”
The group reminded the President that work contractualization was the top issue during the 2016 presidential election, saying that he promised to stop the practice once he becomes president.
Meanwhile, Labor Undersecretary Joel Maglunsod denied the allegations of Partidong Manggagawa (PM) that the Labor department attempted to delay the signing of the EO on contractualization.
Maglunsod said the President, in a meeting with the labor group earlier this month, said he will have the EO studied by his legal advisers. He called on labor groups to be more patient “as the President is doing his best to address the problems of labor contractualization.”