MEETING MEDIA For the first time since assuming the country’s top government post, President Duterte speaks to members of the Malacañang Press Corps after the mass oathtaking of his appointees at the Palace. He lamented the “lackadaisical” stance of companies on the issue of labor contractualization. JOAN BONDOC
VOWING no mercy, President Duterte on Monday threatened to shut down companies engaged in contractualization—the practice of hiring employees for five months in an attempt to circumvent labor laws providing benefits and job security for them.
Speaking to the Malacañang Press Corps for the first time since assuming the presidency, Mr. Duterte lamented a “lackadaisical” attitude among companies in dealing with the issue and urged employers to pay their workers properly and give them the benefits due them.
“Stop contractualization. It will not do good to our country,” he said, warning employers not to wait for authorities to look into their operations.
“Don’t wait for me to catch you because I will be unforgiving,” he said.
“If I find you out, I’ll just simply close your plant. I can always find a thousand reasons to do it, believe me,” said Mr. Duterte, who has promised to end contractualization, a hot issue during the presidential campaign.
Last week, in a move to give substance to the Duterte promise, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III directed regional offices to stop processing applications for third-party labor contractors.
Mr. Duterte said in his press briefing on Monday workers could use the new government 8888 complaint hotline to report employers who are shortchanging them or depriving them of benefits due them.
“I am not trying to scare you but this is my warning. If the government says something, that will be it. Do not wait to commit a wrong. Just obey it,” he added.
No sympathy
The President also warned employers that they would get no sympathy from him if they come to him with sob stories about difficulties in running their operations.
“It could mean a reduction of your corporate profits? Fine, share it to the people … . If you think that you would lose, close shop. You can turn to farming,” he said.
Mr. Duterte rued the plight of employees falling prey to contractualization, a company scheme to hire workers for only five months to avoid their regularization and the payment of more benefits to them.
He said the practice condemned workers to move from one job to another.
He bewailed the situation faced by security guards from agencies, many of which he said were owned by members of the military.
These guards often work 24-hour shifts when their work time is supposed to be only eight hours, which was why they do not always perform well, he said.
The President warned these security agencies that he would cancel their permits if they did not treat their workers properly.
“If you cannot take care of your workers, then I cannot take care of you. That’s quid pro quo,” he said.
No more inspections
According to Mr. Duterte, the government does not have enough personnel to send to all companies to check if they engage in contractualization.
He would depend on reports from workers, he said, as he thumbed down the plan of Bello to hire more personnel to check the records of companies to see if they were involved in this prohibited practice.
“There would be no more inspections. If there’s a violation, I do not need to check. Once workers say that they were hired for only five months, there will be trouble between us, I do not care,” he said in remarks on Sunday night during a dinner with members of the Presidential Security Group.
Sending inspectors to check on the practices of companies was also prone to corruption, he noted. They may be tempted to write favorable reports in exchange for money, he added.
“I know how the system operates. I have been in the government for so long, 40 years,” he added.
Injustice
Mr. Duterte earlier promised to end contractualization or “endo” [end of contract], calling it an injustice.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said what the President was against was the practice of routinely terminating workers after five months to avoid making them regulars.
The President understands that there are jobs in time-bound businesses that lend themselves to contracts, according to Dominguez.
Contractuals
Under labor laws, employment is deemed permanent after six months. According to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, there are around 25 million contractual workers in the country.
The labor department itself has acknowledged that a third of the country’s total workforce in small and medium enterprises are nonregular laborers.
Mr. Duterte spoke to reporters after swearing in newly appointed department undersecretaries.
In June, he said he would refrain from talking to the media after he was accused of condoning the assassination of allegedly corrupt journalists and watchdog press groups called for a boycott of his news conferences.
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