Appeal to lawmakers: Give employers a break

“Give employers a break.”

This was the appeal of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) to lawmakers in the wake of bills that seek to increase workers’ wages and stop contractual employment.

“There are more than 100 bills pending that are deemed harmful to employers which… are like the “sword of Damocles” hanging over the head of employers,” said Ecop president Edgardo Lacson.

Among the bills cited by Lacson are:

• The consolidated House Bill No. 4853 on contracting and outsourcing which criminalizes contracting out work necessary or desirable or directly related to the business of the principal as well as other forms of contracting;

• Senate Bill No.  858, authored by Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada which radically changes the classification of regular and nonregular employment into contracts for indefinite period;

• HB 942 (by Rep. Reynaldo Umali), HB 1817 (by Rep. Emmeline Aglipay), HB 1889 (by Rep. Ben Evardone), and HB 2884 (by Rep. JV Ejercito) which increase penalties for noncompliance of prescribed increases in wage rates;

• SB 80 (by Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada) & HB 1218 (by Rep. Gloria Arroyo and Rep. Diosdado Arroyo) which mandate the grant of an annual productivity incentive bonus of not less than 10 percent of net profits before taxes as well as nondiminution of existing benefits, whether granted by law, employer policy/practice or contract and impose penalties for failure/refusal to pay the productivity incentive bonus;

• HB 6128, authored by Reps. Diosdado Arroyo and Gloria Arroyo, which increases maternity leave benefits from 60 days to 120 days; and

• HB 6059, introduced by Rep. Rene Relampagos, which seeks  “full satisfaction of monetary awards to complainants/awardees in labor cases in the Philippines.”

Meanwhile, the labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno on Thursday slammed ECOP for renewing its campaign for wage cuts and contractualization, saying the country’s laws are in favor of capitalists and not workers.