The Philippine Society of Management Services has maintained that the end of contract policy or ‘endo’ has been disallowed by a Department of Labor and Employment directive even before the time of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Para sa aming mga service contractors na lehitimo, ang endo matagal nang natigil. Bago pa ‘yong administrasyon ni Presidente Durterte, mayroon nang DOLE [Department Order] 18-8,” Jay Meloto, president of the group, said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay on Wednesday.
“‘Yong pagtigil ng kontrata after five months, matagal na itong bawal. Minsan, namimiss-interpret yung endo sa co-terminus contract,” Meloto added.
Associated Labor Unions—Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) Spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the order signed by President Duterte “was a ceremonial signing in the sense that there’s no new to it.”
ALU-TUCP however claimed that local workers did not feel any change within their workplaces.
“The endo has not ended, we can go out from this building and I can show you in two minutes that there is an endo worker,” Tanjusay said, challenging Meloto’s claims.
Meloto countered by saying that the service contracting industry is as a “misunderstood sector”, adding that companies under his group do not condone endo.
Tanjusay, on his part, said that even if there are companies refraining from such practices, an overwhelming majority still ‘subcontracts’ human resources.
“It is politically incorrect to say that endo has stopped,” Tanjusay said.
Not President Duterte’s fault
Tanjusay spared President Duterte the blame for the continuous existence of “endo” saying that the President was ‘frank’ about the inadequacy of an EO to stop contractualization.
“Naging prangka naman siya eh, inamin niya sa ating lahat na hindi niya kayang maglabas ng isang executive order that totally bans endo, dahil wala siyang legal bases,” he said.
“So, doon lang sa framework na ‘yon, naiintindihan natin ang posisyon ng Pangulo, but we look forward sa kanyang sinabi na he will certify the security of tenure bill as urgent.”
The resource speakers however, pleaded to the current administration to reconsider the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Kuwait, as the country is still reeling from massive layoffs after the Boracay closure and the Miascor termination.
“’Yong nangyari sa Miascor, 4,000 breadwinners ang nawalan ng trabaho; 30, 000 sa Boracay, and ‘yong impending na 260,000 from Kuwait. I think we need to talk with the President,” Tanjusay said.
“Ano ba ‘yong government social protection program, ano ba ‘yong transition period, ano ba ‘yong repatriation plan, ano ba ‘yong strategy to prevent workers from being dislocated and unemployed?” he added. /muf