Take two for security of tenure measure

THE LABOR department and the Senate have taken steps to revive a proposal that would tighten controls on labor contracting, a few days after President Rodrigo R. Duterte struck down a similar measure just before it would have lapsed into law last Saturday for unduly burdening business.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III told reporters in a briefing in Manila on Monday that the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) will submit a “clearer and more focused” measure to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) which, he said, will meet next Monday.

“We will come up with a clearer and more focused provision to provide security of tenure to our workers… I understand that there is LEDAC [meeting] this Monday, so probably we hope to have a new version on formulation before Monday so that it can be presented to the LEDAC,” Mr. Bello said.

He added that DoLE’s version will seek to “strike a balance” between assuring workers’ security of tenure and making sure it will not erode business viability.

“The bill will give employees security of tenure (SoT) but it shouldn’t be at the expense of employers because kung nagawa ’yan, baka mawala ang viability ng business (if that is done, businesses might lose viability) and it might result in losing employment opportunities.”

Chaired by the President, LEDAC — formed under Republic Act No. 7640 of December 1992 to ensure close coordination between the Executive branch and Congress on priority measures — also consists of the Vice-President, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, seven Cabinet members designated by the President, three senators designated by the Senate President, three members of the House designated by the speaker, as well as a representative each from local government, the youth and the private sectors.

LEDAC last met in September 2017, according to its Web site.

In his July 26 veto message, Mr. Duterte had said Senate Bill No. 1826/House Bill No. 6908 “unduly broadens the scope and definition of prohibited labor-only contracting, effectively proscribing forms of contractualization that are not particularly unfavorable to the employees involved.”

Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva on Monday re-filed the same measure, telling reporters that he will ask state economic managers — including Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia and Finance Sec. Carlos G. Dominguez III who had expressed reservations about the bill a few days before it was vetoed — to point out objectionable provisions.

The move was supported by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), which is set to file a counterpart measure at the House of Representatives through Rep. Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza.

“This is exactly the same measure that was certified as priority measure and urgent by the President himself,” Mr. Villanueva told reporters after filing Senate Bill No. 806, or the proposed “Security of Tenure and End of Endo Act,” referring to “end of contract” (endo).

“… [T]he same because we wanted to find out from the President’s men, the officials na nag-influence sa ating Pangulo (the officials who influenced the President to veto the past measure), para i-pinpoint nila anong particular provision ‘yung may problema sila (so they will pinpoint particular provisions with which they have reservations).”

The bill will amend Presidential Decree No. 442, or the “Labor Code of the Philippines,” by prohibiting labor-only contracting and provides penalties for noncompliance.

The bill considers a working arrangement to be labor-only contracting when: a job contractor merely recruits and supplies workers to a contractee, regardless of whether he or she has substantial capital; workers recruited perform functions are directly related to the principal business of an employer; and if workers of the job contractor are under the control and supervision of the contractee. The bill also requires job contractors to secure a DoLE license.

Mr. Villanueva said it was the inclusion of performance of tasks directly related to the principal business of a contractee that proved unpalatable to business.

Thirteen local and foreign business chambers asked Mr. Duterte on July 17 to veto the measure, arguing that its provisions were already in place through DoLE’s Department Order No. 174, issued in March 2017, and Executive Order No. 51, issued in May 2018.

“We expected them to refile, but I think what the President did is obvious: the proposed law as it is right now needs to be worked on a bit. It’s quite restrictive,” Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman George T. Barcelon said in a telephone interview on Monday, citing for example that contractual workers should not perform functions directly related to the principal business of a contractee.

Moreover, he noted, “in present form, any one of the conditions that is not met, you’re already in violation.”

“What management is asking is that all the conditions must be there before that would trigger having the law take into effect.”

Associated Labor Unions-TUCP Spokesman Alan A. Tanjusay said separately “if we read and examine the bill carefully, the SoT bill that President Duterte already vetoed, the proposed measure already contains the provisions that he wanted to have.”

“The SoT measure, if approved into law, would also mandate the creation of tripartite councils per industry which would fairly determine which… [tasks] are deemed necessary and desirable to the core business and therefore… ‘directly hired’ by the principal business owner.” — Charmaine A. Tadalan and Gillian M. Cortez