Is Contractualization Legal in the Philippines

After the change of power of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo`s 10-year reign, the benigno Aquino III administration began. Order 18 of the DOLE department was revised and led to a new and improved version of itself with the publication of order 18-A of the DOLE department. At this point, DOLE aggressively restricted and regulated the contractual practice of agencies, so it seemed that the norm was not contractualization, while regularization was the exception. In 2017, DOLE commissioned PLDT to regularize nearly 9,000 employees. This order was issued after DOLE found that many of PLDT`s contract agencies had violated the labor laws of the Philippines. [9] Several authorities have denied their workers the rights enshrined in the Philippine Labor Code, such as the 13-month wage. PLDT appealed to the Ministry of Labour to reconsider this decision, but it was rejected in January 2018 when Labour Minister Silvestre Bello III said that ”his office had found no reason to rescind the order”. However, some contract agencies turned out to be legal and the number of employees who needed to be regularized increased from nearly 9,000 to about 8,000 employees. DOLE also asked PLDT to pay PHP66 million in unpaid services. [10] As a reminder, the 17th Congress passed Senate Bill No.

1826, which aimed to end contracting in May 2019 after President Rodrigo Duterte approved the bill as urgent. Senate Bill No. 1826 provides that there is a pure contract of employment if one or the other: The law is fair and equitable for work and management. Although the Philippine Constitution is inexorably committed to protecting the working class from exploitation and unjust treatment, it nevertheless prescribes the policy of social justice to strike a balance between a declared preference for labor on the one hand and the maintenance of the legal rights of capital, the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg. on the other hand (Homeowners Savings and Loan Association, Inc.c. NLRC, G.R. No. 97067, 26 September 1996). It remains to be seen whether the draft law will be adopted and whether it can adequately respond to the clamour of workers and trade unions, while preserving the rights of employers to legitimate contracting. Presidential candidates for next year`s national elections should consider extending state benefits to contract workers rather than abolishing employment contracts, analysts said.

The practice of ”contractualization” or ”endo” leaves employees stuck in temporary jobs without benefits. . He was referring to the practice of companies hiring employees on fixed-term contracts, which is prevalent in various industries and is of concern to low-income Filipino workers. The Philippine Labor Code allows employers to hire people with probation status not exceeding six months. Under the contracting system, employees sign contracts for up to six months, and when contracts expire, employers simply renew them. In this way, companies can avoid regularizing employees and providing benefits such as paid leave and bonuses. After much delay and many changes, Duterte filed an Executive Order (EO) against contracting on May 1, 2018, Labor Day. Workers` groups were disappointed with the PO and said it was not the draft they had prepared, nor did it reflect their negotiations with the Ministry of Labour and Employment (DOLE). They wanted the government to make direct attitude the norm and for the awarding of employment contracts to be an exception. Critics said the PO ”supports employers” rather than Filipino workers.

Termination: This period means that a contract between the parties will be terminated before the actual agreed date specified in the contract. Sometimes, given the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), termination may also refer to the legal termination of a contract without this being considered a breach. During his presidential campaign, Rodrigo Duterte promised that if he won, he would end ”contractualization” and improve working conditions for all. He was referring to the practice of companies hiring employees on fixed-term contracts, which is prevalent in various industries and is of concern to low-income Filipino workers. Today, four years into his term, the problem still exists. The House of Representatives recently passed a bill to guarantee the mandate, but the fight to end contracting continues. The pandemic has been made even more feasible by contracting, as companies are able to reduce losses, thus bearing much of the risk for workers, as standard work uses more telecommunications and virtual communications. Establishing an anti-endo law is like taking a step against the wave of the market,” he said in an email to BusinessWorld. Endocontracturalization is a practice in which employees are hired for a short period of time before being fired. Often, you are hired in this system for less than six months. Employees under this form of agreement are dismissed or transferred to other companies before the deadline expires. In this way, it becomes almost impossible for them to file claims for regularization.

Endo (derived from ”termination of contract”) refers to a short-term employment practice in the Philippines. . Despite its history of legalizing the practice, subsequent revisions to Philippine labor laws made the practice illegal. Contracting has long been a topic of discussion in the Philippines. Although they have been declared illegal, some companies continue to exploit Filipino workers because there are legal loopholes in this practice. Well, what else do you need to know about contracting in the Philippines? 386, The omnibus rules for the implementation of the Labour Code and the decisions of the Supreme Court constitute the legal bases. Regular employees are those who have been tasked with carrying out activities that are normally necessary or desirable in the employer`s usual business or commerce. Positions on this issue are divided, there are some who point out that the practice is abusive and illegal, others who say that contracting is essential to economic growth, while others also talk about how it affects the workers who are exposed to it. According to a first list presented at the Malacañang Palace, DOLE indicates that there are 3,337 companies suspected of participating only in employment contracts. Of this total, DOLE confirmed that 767 companies only operate employment contracts.

This first list also notes that more than 224,000 workers are affected by illegal contractual practices and that a total of 176,286 workers have already been regularized. The roots of contracting date back to 1974 during the reign of Ferdinand Marcos, when Ernesto ”Boy” Herrera participated in the drafting of Presidential Decree 442. This decree, which Marcos eventually adopted, would give the provisions and reasons for contracting workers in the Philippines. The Philippine Labor Code is the code that governs employment practices and labor relations in the Philippines. It was issued on Labor Day, May 1, 1974, by the late President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos in the exercise of his then-still-existing legislative powers. Many companies use employment contracts and/or employee contracting to avoid regularization of these workers and reduce employment costs by not having to pay the benefits to which regular employees are entitled. After the end of Corazon Aquino`s government, Fidel V. Ramos, a well-known military leader, promised to end contracting in order to alleviate the plight of his suffering Filipino people, and therefore had the Philippine Labor Code amended to extend the powers of the Minister of Labor as well as the powers of regional directors to deal more effectively with labor law violations and, hopefully, solve the growing problem of exploitation. Tame and contain the contractualization. The amendment is cited as follows, article 106 of the revised Labour Code: ”The Minister of Labour and Employment may, by appropriate provisions, restrict or prohibit the outsourcing of labour in order to protect the rights of workers set forth in this Act.” This amendment to the Philippine Labor Code effectively gives the power to end or continue the outsourcing of labor into the hands of the then DOLE secretary.

READ ALSO: Endo: Service, contract, billing, release, 555 Filipino employees are legally entitled to 5 days of paid ”service incentive vacation” that can be used for vacation or illness. However, we generally see good employers offering 15 days of paid leave and 15 days of paid sick leave for most professional positions in the Philippines. Since the first drafts of the Philippine Labor Code until today, there have been no drastic measures for contracting. This issue about Endo has been the subject of much debate that has spanned various presidencies, each of which promises to end this practice of labor exploitation, with each of the president`s contributions being a small change to the Philippine Labor Code. For many, the effects of contracting are far worse than the benefits. In summary, here are the pros and cons of contracting: Endo refers to a short-term employment practice in the Philippines. This is a form of contracting in which companies grant workers temporary employment that lasts less than six months and then terminate their employment shortly before regularization to avoid the costs associated with regularization. Some examples of such benefits that contract workers do not receive compared to legalized workers include the benefits of an employer and an SSS employee, Philhealth and the contribution to the Pag-ibig housing fund, unpaid leave and the 13th monthly salary.

Faced with the rejection of Law No. 1826 of the Senate, various legislators have resubmitted their respective versions in order to finally put an end to abusive forms of contractualization. Hope seemed to come in the form of House Bill No. to reveal. . . .