ECOP opposes planned list of allowed contractual activities

are opposing moves to come out with a specific list of activities that may be contracted out in the Philippine labor market to avoid further confusion among businesses.

Instead, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) is calling for a status quo regarding Section 2 of the Executive Order (EO) signed by President Duterte on contractualization last May 1.

While labor groups are pushing to convene the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (NTIPC) to tackle job contractualization under Section 2 of EO 51, ECOP said it is better to keep the status quo to prevent further confusion.

“This means that activities which may be contracted out do not have to be on a negative or positive list, nor should there be a specific list of activities which may be contracted out,” ECOP said.

The last paragraph of Section 2 of EO 51 states that “the Secretary of Labor and Employment may, by appropriate issuances, in consultation with the NTIPC under Article 290 (c) of the Labor Code, as amended, declare activities which may be contracted out.”

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) conducted a Tripartite Executive Committee (TEC) meeting last May 10 to discuss the “ways forward” regarding the EO.

During the meeting, ECOP said DOLE asked the members of the TEC if there is a need to have a list of contracted-out activities, as well as if such activities should be in a form of a positive or negative list, and what exactly comprises these activities.

“We deem it at this point not to disturb Section 2 by coming up with a list of activities that may be contracted out. At the moment, let’s leave it at that,” ECOP president Donald Dee said.

As it presently is, ECOP said the current set-up that allows legitimate forms of contracting and expressly prohibits the practice of labor-only contracting already causes enough confusion in practice.