DOLE-7 Conducts ENDO Consultation at MEPZ

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE-7) conducted an orientation on Ending Contractualization with business owners, human resource managers and management representatives from the three big economic zones at the Funai Hall, Funai Electric Cebu, Incorporated, MEPZ-11, Basak, Lapu-Lapu City.

According to DOLE-7 Communication Officer Luchel Taniza, it was the first leg of the series of orientations on the issue.

Taniza added that said orientation gathered more than 200 locators from the Mactan Export Processing Zone-1, Mactan Export Processing Zone-2 and Cebu Light Industrial Park.

DOLE-7 regional director Exequiel  Sarcauga and Assistant Regional Director Joel Gonzales led the DOLE’s regional technical working group in conducting the advocacy on ending ENDO or the abusive and prohibited practices of contractualization, said Taniza.

Sarcauga said, “The directives of President Duterte necessitated us to transform and change the way we do things. With his marching orders on ending ENDO, there is a need to treat workers as partners and respect their rights at work all the time.

With the Labor and Employment Secretary’s commitment to President Duterte, the DOLE is left with no choice but to follow and implement the President’s marching orders, Sarcauga emphasized..

Taniza said that recently Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III issued Labor Advisory No. 10 Series of 2016 emphasizing the prohibition against labor-only contracting arrangements and Department Order 162 Series of 2016 suspending the registration of new applicants as contractors or subcontractors under Department Order No. 18-A.

With this, Sarcauga said that the DOLE is targeting to have at least 50% of the contractual workers in the Region regularized before the end of December 2016 and 100% regularization of contractual workers before the end of December 2017. This is in reiteration of the Secretary’s commitment to the President.

“Labor-Only-Contracting arrangements are prohibited by law and such practices must be put to an end,” Sarcauga emphatically said.

He added, DOLE is ready with three on-standby options; referral of workers to other companies for employment; provision of livelihood assistance; and re-training of skills in coordination with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as he was seeing possible displacement of workers.

Atty. Roy Buenafe, DOLE-7’s Mediation Arbitration and Legal Service Unit (MALSU) head shed light on confusions and queries regarding L.A. No. 10 and D.O. 162 including Articles 106 and 280 of the Labor Code of the Philippines during the forum.

MEPZ Mixed Gases Corporation general manager Kirby Chua said that he finds the move and new directive of the government regarding ending contractualization reasonable.

“Luoy mansad kaayo ang mga workers nga sige lang contractual for how many years and dili gyud ma-regular. Kami, gamay ra hinoon mi sa among kompaniya but we are proud to say that we are all regular workers there,” Chua said. (It is a pity for workers who are always on contractual basis working for how many years and no chances of being a regular employee. We are just a small number in our company but we are proud to day that we are all regular workers there.) (mbcn/jsme/PIA7-Cebu/ with reports from DOLE-7)