Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 25) – Lawmakers on Wednesday approved on second reading a bill which seeks to further protect the rights of workers in the private sector with more rules against labor-only contracting.
House Bill No. 7036 or the Security of Tenure bill proposes to amend provisions in the Labor Code. Under the measure, a fixed term for regular employees will not be allowed except for overseas Filipino workers, workers on probation, relievers who are temporary replacements of absent regular employees with engagements that shall not exceed six months, project employees and seasonal workers.
These relievers, however, shall enjoy the rights of regular employees during the duration of the project or season. The workers shall not be dismissed without just or authorized cause, otherwise, they will be immediately reinstated, without losing benefits, back wages, even its social security, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contributions.
The bill also outlined rules for contractors. It proposes to hold job contractors liable if they fail to pay the allowance and benefits of the workers. They also need to secure a license from the Labor Department upon compliance with several requirements, such as a minimum capital and sufficient knowledge and experience in the contracted job.
The license is valid for three years and cannot be renewed unless the contractor shows “net financial contracting capacity to carry on its business.” A contractor found without a license and who practices labor-only contracting shall pay a fine of P30,000 per person who is under the illegal arrangement, the bill stated.
In July 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed the bill banning “illegal contractualization” or “endo.” “Endo” or “end of contract” is a highly contested practice wherein workers are hired for not more than five months, so employers don’t need to regularize them on the sixth month as mandated by the Labor Code.
Duterte rejected the bill due to the supposed broadened scope of labor-only contracting, which is “effectively proscribing forms of contractualization that are not particularly unfavorable to employees involved.” Ending contractualization was one of Duterte’s campaign promises in 2016.
