Probe sought on PLDT, Jollibee’s alleged violation of workers’ rights

Progressive lawmakers from the House Makabayan bloc filed on Wednesday a resolution seeking an investigation into the alleged mass lay-off of thousands of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) workers nationwide and urged telecommunications company to regularize its workers.

ACT-Teachers Reps. Antonio Tinio and France Castro, Gabriela Reps. Emmi de Jesus and Arlene Brosas, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao, and Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago specifically directed the committee on labor and employment to conduct the probe, in aid of legislation

In filing the resolution House Resolution 2013, the lawmakers said it is imperative for the lower chamber “to take an active role in mounting pressure for the PLDT to implement Dole’s (Department of Labor and Employment) regularization order, uphold the workers’ rights, and investigate the labor rights violations experienced by the workers.”

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III earlier directed PLDT to regularize its more than 7,000 workers as he stressed that the compliance order was “final and executory.”

READ: Bello to PLDT: Regularize 7,000-plus workers

PLDT then terminated its service contracts with various agencies on June 30, which resulted in the termination of more than 10,000 contractual workers.

But the telco giant later denied that it had started to end agreements with service contract providers to skirt the compliance order from Dole.

READ: PLDT denies terminating service contracts | PLDT calls Bello allegations baseless, fabricated

In the resolution, the lawmakers noted that the mass layoff led to a series of protests and campaign for regularization of PLDT contractual workers.

In a press conference at the House on Wednesday, Dan Joshua Nazario, president of PLDT Organization of Workers and Employees for Rights (POWER) appealed to his coworkers to join their fight and assert their regularization.

“Dahil sa resolution na ito tumaas po ang morale namin na ipagpatuloy laban na ‘to hanggang maregular po kami… Sana po dumami pa po kami na mga manggagawang natanggal na ilaban ang aming regularisasyon,” he said.

“Our struggle for regularization under PLDT will surely not cease,” he said in a separate statement, adding that they would be bringing their calls during the President Rodrigo Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address on July 23.

On Tuesday, the Makabayan bloc also filed HR 2009, which sought for a probe on the alleged illegal and unfair labor practices of Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) and its service contractors.

In filing House Resolution 2009, the lawmakers said it is of public interest for the House to look into the operations of Jollibee and its service contractors as “micro-model for determining loopholes in labor laws that allow the proliferation of labor-only contracting leading to undermining the security of tenure of our workers.”

They said the probe could be a basis for revisiting the Labor Code provisions and the Dole issuances on contractualization and labor-only contracting. /je