DoLE touts permanent status for over 400,000 ex-contractuals

by Gillian M. Cortez, Business Mirror, Dec 19, 2018

THE LABOR DEPARTMENT said over 400,000 contractual workers were converted to regular employment status this year, including more than half voluntarily regularized by their employers.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said that as of Dec. 3, it recorded 411,449 contractual workers regularized by their respective employers.

DoLE Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III told reporters that the number of conversions to regular status is “unprecedented” and backed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s determination to minimize labor-only contracting.

He said however that millions more workers remain under contractual arrangements that deny them a path to permanent employment status.

“In fairness to the employers, they responded favorably. That’s why 65% of the employers complied voluntarily. They did not wait for a compliance order,” he said.

Mr. Bello said among the 411,449 are 11,660 contractual workers from the SM Group, which in May promised to voluntarily convert contractual workers to regular status, Mr. Bello said.

SM has not issued a comment on Mr. Bello’s latest announcement.

DoLE also said it inspected thousands of establishments in 2018. In May, the department released a list of 3,377 establishments suspected of being engaged in labor-only contracting.

DoLE’s labor inspections have been halted for this month and will resume on Jan. 15. —