Labor leaders urge Aquino to junk contractual system

MANILA, Philippines – Labor leaders asked President Aquino yesterday to junk the contractual system in the labor industry, saying that this is against his 22-point platform and policy for labor.

In a forum, the leaders resolved to “engage the government in their demand to defend job security and stop the proliferation of contractual schemes.”

The forum was attended by the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), Alliance of Progressive Labor, Philippines Airlines Employees’ Association, United Cavite Workers Association, Samahan ng Manggagawa sa Paranaque, Makabayan and Samahan ng Manggagawa sa Antipolo.

It was hosted by the Manggagawa sa Komunikasyon ng Pilipinas and the Union of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. rank and file workers.

PM chair Renato Magtutubo said the “epidemic of contractuals is a result of failure in both policy and enforcement.”

“There are glaring loopholes in the law that has been abused by employers to wipe out regular jobs and replace them with contractual workers that have less in wages and benefits and enjoy no security of tenure. Management is allowed by law to contract out jobs that are necessary and desirable to the business of the company,” he said.

Magtutubo said “this has been interpreted to mean that practically all jobs can be outsourced, not just janitorial or security services.”

“Thus, you find factories and malls in which contractual workers outnumber regular workers several times over while all do the same job.”

“We are challenging P-Noy to make concrete his promise that democracy should work for all by certifying a set of pro-labor reform bills as urgent in his State of the Nation Address. We welcome the 22-point labor platform of the Aquino administration as announced by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.”

Magtutubo said while the platform “is a good step to make the promise of reform a reality,” it would be derailed if the Aquino administration would not address the contractual scheme.

The platform gives utmost priority to the creation of employment opportunities in the country to prevent Filipino workers from leaving their families and work abroad, he said. —Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star)