Akbayan Representative to Duterte: Certify anti-endo bill as urgent

PRESS RELEASE
August 3, 2016

CERTIFY ANTI-ENDO BILL AS URGENT - AKBAYAN TO DUTERTE

The end of "endo."

This is what Akbayan's House Bill No. 341 or Security of Tenure Bill seeks to achieve under the 17th Congress now that none other than President Rodrigo Duterte himself threatened to shut down companies who intend to continue the practice of contractualizing labor.

"We welcome the president's pronouncement. But if he's really committed to help the Filipino workers, he must certify the Security of Tenure Bill as urgent," Akbayan Rep. Tom Villarin said.

Filed last June 30, the bill seeks to amend the Labor Code (PD No. 442) by drawing from both executive (Department of Labor and Employment Department Order No. 18, Series of 2002) and judicial recognition that all workers have the right to security of tenure, to notice, and hearing.

 HB No. 341 also clarifies what constitutes casual, regular, and project employment; and introduces the following innovations:

1) employment may be fixed by the term of the project, task or work to be performed but may not be bound to a mere reference to a time;


2) the period of probationary employment is fixed at six months when all the employers shall have enough time to ascertain whether a worker is fit for retention or not; and

3) deliberate misclassification of employees for the purpose of misleading them as to their rights is deemed an unfair labor practice.

"It's high time to enact a law that will effectively end 'endo' beyond this administration and institutionalize security of tenure for all classes of employees," Villarin remarked.


In the meantime, the lawmaker urged the administration, especially the DOLE to identify companies that are notorious for contractualizing labor.

"Until such bill is passed, we urge the president to order Sec. Bello to come up with the list of top 1,000 corporations known for practicing contractualization and to monitor these companies' compliance in the next 3 months," the lawmaker said.

"Filipino workers are counting on his promises. This is one promise that we can and will turn into a reality," he added.