Senate bill urges part-time jobs in place of retrenchment

By: Maila Ager - 9 years ago

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago wants the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to study the possibility of part-time employment in the country in lieu of retrenchment.

Because of global financial crisis, Santiago said many companies were suffering “serious business losses locally and abroad.”

“As a result, many employees are laid off to counteract the losses. Such employees then find a hard time immediately getting employment,” Santiago said in her Senate Bill No. 2470, which directs the labor secretary to conduct a research on part-time employment in lieu of retrenchment.

“Without any immediate prospects, these employees, especially those who support their own families are at a loss as to the source of their livelihood. Not only are their productivity wasted, but they end up joining the ranks of countless countrymen in poverty,” the bill read.

“An option to maintain a part-time employment while looking for a new employment will go a long way in easing out the impact of global financial crisis while conserving the productivity of both the employer and the employee,” it added.
Under Santiago’s bill, the DOLE chief is also directed to conduct the following:
-an analysis of the significant impediments to legislation and creation of such programs

-a model part-time employment for employers who are suffering business losses

-a listing of possible assistance the DOLE can extend to such employers

-recommendations for legislation as to how this option can be introduced in the Philippine labor system; and

-such recommendations as the (labor) secretary determines appropriate.

The duration of the research, the bill said, should not be more than five years.

The DOLE chief will submit the report to the appropriate committees in the Senate and the House of Representatives not later than six months following the completion of the research.