Solons seek to prohibit contractual employment

Lady lawmakers have filed a proposed measure prohibiting contractual employment

in the country to uphold Filipino workers right to job security.
House Bill 4!" authored by #abriela $omens %arty &eps. 'mmi (e )esus and
Lu*viminda +lagan amends the Labor ,ode of the %hilippines- specifically .rticle /0"-
1ection /2 .rticle /03- 1ection 42 .rticle 43!- 1ection 2 .rticle 450- 1ection 4 and .rticle
45/- 1ection 6.
+n filing the bill- (e )esus said the workers right to job security has been
emasculated since contractual employment was allowed under the Labor ,ode- which was
approved under the 7arcos dictatorship.
(e )esus said the Labor ,ode gives the Labor 1ecretary the power to issue
guidelines on contractual employment. .lthough the Herrera Law amended the Labor
,ode in /!5!- it did not remove such power from the Labor 1ecretary- (e )esus said.
89he said power has been used by Labor 1ecretaries to legali*e contractual
employment- virtually teaching capitalists on how to contractuali*e work forces in a legal
way. :nder the present government of Benigno 1imeon .;uino +++- Labor 1ecretary
&osalinda Baldo* has issued (epartment <rder /5=. 1eries of 40// to legali*e contractual
employment-> (e )esus said.
.s a result- contractual employees have outnumbered the regular workers-
according to (e )esus.
89he service sector- the biggest sector of the economy- has become a haven for
contractuali*ation- especially the malls- fast food chains and hotels. 1pecial economic
*ones or 1'?s- especially the e@port processing *ones among these- also rely heavily on
contractuali*ation- where an estimated 50 to !0 per cent of workers are contractuals. Big
agro=corporations employ a huge number of contractuals-> (e )esus said.
(e )esus also said contractuali*ation has a womans face since many work areas
where contractual employment is rampant shows a high concentration of women workers.
+lagan said contractuali*ation has likewise been used to weaken the e@isting unions
in the country.
8$orkers who retire or are laid off from work are replaced with contractuals until
the latter constitutes a significant section of the workforce. +n other cases- contractual
workers are hired in numbers that turn unioni*ed workers into a minority-> +lagan said.
NR # 3510B
JUNE 27, 2014
8,ontractual employment has made it easier for capitalists to lay off workers and
has therefore contributed to the widespread unemployment in the country. 9his is most
revolting as the +nternational Labor <rgani*ations #lobal 'mployment 9rends in 40/4
shows that the %hilippines has the highest unemployment rate in all of 1outheast .sia->
+lagan declared.
+bon Foundation said unemployment soared from 4.3 million in 40// to 4.4!
million in 40/ while job generation dropped from /.4 million in 40// to a mere /5-000
in the same year.
9he lady lawmakers sought the immediate passage of the bill saying the workers
job security should be upheld and regular employment should be promoted.
8By making subcontracting agencies superfluous and making employers responsible
for their employees- this bill seeks to stop contractual employment and uphold workers
right to job security-> +lagan said.
(e )esus said contractuali*ation is most e@ploitative and most unjust for workers.
8+t must as such be eradicated totally and not merely reduced incrementally-> (e )esus
said.
:nder the bill- any violation of the proposed .ct shall be punished with a fine of not
less than %60-000 but not more than %600-000 or imprisonment of not less than three
months but not more than two years.
9he bill says if the offense is committed by a corporation- trust- firm- partnership or
association or other entity- the penalty shall be imposed upon the guilty officer or officers
of such corporation- trust- firm- partnership or association or entity. A0B mrs