DoLE, ECoP working on regularization settlement

by Camille A. Aguinaldo, Business Mirror, Dec 27, 2018

LABOR SECRETARY Silvestre H. Bello III said Thursday that the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECoP) has committed to a program of extending regular status to its employees.

In a briefing at Malacañang Palace, Mr. Bello said ECoP will start with the initial regularization of 40% of member-companies’ employees.

“We received a communication from the ECoP… It is an offer by the ECoP, representing big employers, a commitment to regularize all the employees of the members of ECoP,” Mr. Bello said.

“This is a big development in the labor sector. No less than the employers are offering to regularize all their employees and they’re starting with 40% of their employees,” he added.

Mr. Bello said the labor department will also ask ECoP for a timetable to offer permanent employment to the remainder of the eligible work force.

Asked for confirmation, ECoP Acting President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. said that the business group and the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) are in the process of drafting such an agreement.

“It is true that we’re talking about it. We have a draft MoU (memorandum of understanding)… It’s regarding the inspection and regularization of those who have violations… There are still some items to be threshed out,” he said in a phone interview with BusinessWorld.

Mr. Ortiz-Luis added the proposed agreement came about after companies which were inspected by the DoLE were suspected of engaging of labor-only contracting and were charged with violating labor law.

“So we will try to help them regularize and see if there are really violations… some of them are employed by service providers, which is acceptable, it is legal,” he said.

Mr. Bello said DoLE will declare a moratorium on labor inspections once the two parties come up with a regularization plan, unless complaints emerge during the period.

“In short we offered that in the moment, we can agree on the regularization plan as initiated by them, we will declare a moratorium on inspections. In order words, they will not be bothered by the inspectors, unless of course there are complaints,” he said during the press briefing.

DoLE said over 400,000 contractual workers were regularized as of Dec. 3. In May, the department released a list of companies suspected of being engaged in labor-only contracting.

Asked for updates on the list of companies, Mr. Bello said some companies have taken steps to comply with the department’s orders, while others have taken to the courts. He said they will continue issuing compliance orders to companies to regularize its employees. —