DOLE defers anew issuance of draft order on contractualization

Workers in Bataan protest the Duterte administration’s slow action to stop labor contractualization on the 153rd birth anniversary of Filipino revolutionary leader Andres Bonifacio on Wednesday (Nov. 30), . Photos by Greg Refraccion

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Tuesday deferred anew the issuance of the Department Order (DO) draft on contractualization.

This came after the labor and management groups asked for four days “to discuss their fundamental differences,” said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III after the three-hour Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC) meeting on Tuesday.

According to him, prior to the TIPC, which was also attended by the labor and management groups, the two sectors had an initial discussion in the morning.

“They had points of convergence and they also have points of divergence. In other words, they have fundamental differences. Let’s see how they will resolve and come up with acceptable formulation,” Bello said. “I was ready to sign the DO since I promised to come out with the DO today (Tuesday). But they asked for a resetting.”

“The labor groups say that in accordance with the order of the President, the framework should be prohibition of all of all forms of contractualization but we can give exemptions. The management, on the other hand, said there is a law which allows and what you need is regulation,” he said.

“Our position is there are certain contractual arrangements that are allowed which we intend to regulate. House Bill 444 will definitely prohibit and criminalize contractualization and all forms of fixed-term contracts. But in the meantime that there is a law, yun muna ang aking ipapatupad (that’s what I’m going to do in the meantime) which allows certain forms of contractualization,” Bello said.

But he added that he is open to amendments to the proposed draft as he awaits the result of the discussion of the labor and management group.

Rene Magtubo, Nagkaisa spokesperson, said they find the draft DO unacceptable because it has apparently no difference with the “win-win” solution which is also being rejected by the workers’ groups.

Magtubo also said that they are also ready to conduct mass actions if DOLE will not heed their demand for total prohibition on contractualization.