Abolition of security of tenure bucked

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s largest labor group yesterday expressed strong opposition to a proposal to ease the workers’ right to security of tenure just to attract more investments into the country.

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said the proposal of Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo was “unimaginative” and similar to the demand of employers to freeze wages to spur business activity.

“The right of workers to security of tenure is guaranteed not just by any law, but by the Constitution itself,” TUCP secretary-general and former senator Ernesto Herrera said in a statement.

Herrera said the government should stop using workers as sacrificial lambs in the drive to lure new capital.

Instead of violating workers’ rights, Herrera urged government to reduce administrative red tape, lessen crime and corruption, build up the country’s human resources, ensure stable supply of electricity nationwide and check unfair trade practices, including smuggling and copyright infringement, that dampen investments.

Domingo earlier sought the easing of the Labor Code’s provision on security of tenure, saying such protection makes our workers less competitive compared to their counterparts from other countries.

But Herrera said the proposal gave employers the leeway to throw workers out of their jobs and replaced them with new and cheaper laborers. –Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)