ECOP pledges to regularize workers of member companies, says Bello

MANILA, Philippines — The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) has informed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that it’s member companies will absorb its workers.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello announced this on Thursday in a Palace briefing, saying that the league of private companies will initially regularize 40 percent of its employees.

“We received a communication from the ECOP, this is the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines, and the content of the communication is unexpected,” Bello said.

“It is an offer by the ECOP— representing big employers in the Philippines — a commitment to regularize all their employees, the members—all the employees of the members of ECOP […] – and they’re starting with 40%,” he added.

The Labor chief, however, noted that they need to find out how soon ECOP intends to implement the other 60 percent of its proposal.

“So iyon ang aming sagot sa kanila, welcome iyong inyong proposal, iyong regularization program ninyo pero we want to find out how soon do you intend to fully regularize all their employees,” he said.

(That’s our answer. We welcome the proposal to regularize workers but we want to find out how soon do you intend to fully regularize all the employees.)

In exchange for the voluntary regularization, Bello said DOLE would exempt ECOP members from regular workplace inspections.

“We offered that [at] the moment we can agree on the regularization plan as initiated by them, we will declare a moratorium on inspection,” he said.

“Unless of course there are complaints, that is our counter offer, and hopefully we can receive a response from them and find out how soon they intend to regularize their employees,” he added in English and Filipino. /ee