Leyte workers groups appeal for end to contractualization

TACLOBAN CITY – Josephine Jaballa, 42, found herself out of work after her contract ended last January with a poultry company in Albuera town, Leyte province.

“We are appealing to our government to stop this practice of contractualization because aside from the possibility that we will be separated from our works after five months, we are not enjoying benefits entitled to regular workers,” Jaballa said.

Jaballa was among 25 former employees of the poultry farm who joined the rally on Labor Day in front of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Eastern Visayas office here to protest the practice of contractualization.

The more than 100 protesters, spearheaded by the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, called on President Duterte to make good his promise to stop the practice.

At the Tacloban Convention Center, Randy Servañe, 40, was among those who attended a jobs fair sponsored by the DOLE.

Servañe once worked in a private company in Manila but was rendered jobless after his contract ended.

“Hopefully, I can find a stable job here,” said the native of Tanauan town, Leyte, and father to eight children, while scanning the lists of companies that joined the jobs fair.

According to the DOLE-8, the whole day jobs fair had 7,000 slots, of which about 3,000 were for overseas employment.

Among the government agencies that joined the jobs fair was the Philippine Army’s 546th Engineering Battalion, which needed more than 200 personnel, Lt. Col. Ralph Mahinay, the company’s information officer, said.

Mahinay said high school graduates could apply provided they had a skills training from the Technical Education and Skills and Development Authority (Tesda).

Needed by the engineering battalion are heavy equipment mechanic, building wiring electrician, plumber, and automotive electrician, among others.

Those who would be hired would receive a salary of P29,680, Mahinay said.