MALACAÑANG on Friday said the Department of Labor and Employment order stopping the “endo” was a major step in upholding and protecting the labor rights of Filipino workers.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Department Order 174 issued by DoLE regulating the contracting and subcontracting of employees fulfilled the campaign promise of then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in the 2016 presidential elections.
“This is a major step in upholding and protecting the labor rights of our great Filipino workers,” said Abella.”©”©
“We commend all concerned parties for the tireless efforts they poured in to make this a reality,” Abella said.
“The fruits of labor must be enjoyed justly and equitably, while business investments must be encouraged to grow and prosper so they can share with workers the reward for their toil,” he said. “©”©
“The Duterte administration is working very hard to promote more humane conditions and fair and just treatment of workers in the work place. We guarantee the proper implementation of this department order by our labor officials and expect the full cooperation from the employers,” said Abella.
However, militant groups such as Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) expressed disappointment over the new department order.
The militant groups demanded Duterte fire Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III who insisted on the implementation of DO 174.
The ALU-TUCP group argued DO 174 would only encourage perpetuation of contractualization in the country.
The labor group Partido Manggagawa itself said contractualization would continue to proliferate under the new department order.
“DO 174 merely reiterates the bans already provided for in the old DO 18-A. Everything old is presented as new again,” Wilson Fortaleza, PM spokesperson, said.
Fortaleza said “Bello is acting like Pontius Pilate by passing the ball to Congress on prohibiting all forms of contractualization. The Labor Secretary is vested by Article 106 of the Labor Code with the power to prohibit or restrict labor contracting.”
“Bello’s order contradicts the President’s directive during the labor dialogue to end contractualization and agency hiring,” Fortaleza said.
Labor leaders had a dialogue with President Rodrigo Duterte last Feb. 27 at Malacanang and the latter acceded to the demand to prohibit all forms of contractualization.
Fortaleza said: “DO 18-A was issued in late 2011 to stop contractualization scheme. Since D0 18-A merely regulated not prohibited contractualization, the problem of endo has gone from bad to worse over the past five years.
“With DO 18-A rehashed as DO 174, contractualization will only get worst in the years to come.”… Fortaleza insisted that “Under DO 174, replacement of regular workers with contractual workers will continue. Agency, rather than direct hiring, will be the norm.
“Manpower agencies will remain as middlemen between principal employers and workers. As lifetime agency employees, the best workers can hope for is a minimum wage while principal employers reap the fruits of labor productivity,” he added.