Ople slams subcontracting of bank jobs

FORMER labor undersecretary and now Nacionalista Party senatorial candidate Susan “Toots” Ople is pushing for the recall of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Memorandum Circular 268, which allows banks to freely subcontract out in bulk jobs normally performed by their regular employees.

Labor unions have been strongly opposed to the circular, which has already led to the loss of more than 7,000 regular jobs in the banking industry, according to Ople.

“There is merit to the grievance of bank labor unions that the circular abets unfair labor practices and union-busting, and threatens in a big way the job security of regular bank personnel,” Ople said.

“When permanent bank staff positions are demolished wholesale, regular employees and their families not only lose their source of livelihood, the labor unions that protect those [workers] left behind also get smashed or diminished considerably,” Ople added.

“Banks used to provide some of the most durable jobs in the country, with many personnel looking forward to stable employment until they grow old and retire. This is no longer the case now. Regular bank workers feel threatened by the BSP circular,” Ople said.

The BSP circular allows the subcontracting to independent service providers of eight banking operations or divisions: credit investigation and appraisal, credit cards, information technology, clearing, security, messengerial, tax management and financial accounting.

“This is basically labor-only subcontracting, where the contractor merely recruits, supplies or places workers to perform a job, work or service for the principal, in this case the bank,” Ople said.

Once elected to the Senate, Ople vowed to push for new legislation that would adequately safeguard workers from the harsh effects of widespread labor-only subcontracting.

As a result of unchecked labor-only subcontracting, Ople said that, on the one hand, many regular jobs across all industries are being lost.

“On the other hand, those engaged by subcontractors end up mistreated as mere temporary or part-time workers, and deprived of statutory wages and benefits, including mandatory social security and health-insurance coverage,” Ople said. –Businessmirror