By Leslie Ann Aquino
Half of the more than 7,000 contractual workers of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) company may already be regularized soon.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III revealed that PLDT has come up with a proposal on the regularization of the said workers.
A logo of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) is seen in front of their building in Makati city, Metro Manila.
(REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco / MANILA BULLETIN)
"They come up with a proposal that they will regularize 50 percent first," he said in a press briefing Friday.
"I might still haggle to possibly make it 60 percent...what is important here is that there is already a regularization plan," added Bello.
He could not give other details yet saying PLDT will still submit the regularization plan.
Bello is set to meet with the president of PLDT, Saturday, September 1 regarding the matter.
DOLE had previously ordered PLDT to regularize 7,344 workers from its service contractors.
PLDT, however, questioned the "regularization orders" before the Court of Appeals.
Meanwhile, the Labor chief lauded Dole Philippines, Inc., a fruit manufacturing company based in Mindanao, and Dole Phil Kaugnay for signing the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Hiring Commitment wherein a total of 4,765 workers are set to be regularized.
“I would like to congratulate the Dole Phil, Dole Kaugnay, and the union for their prudence in setting aside issues to finally come up with this MOA and to directly hire 4,173 workers in Polomolok cannery and 592 in Upper Valley operations in not later than one year from signing,” said Bello during the MOA signing last week in Polomolok, South Cotabato.
On top of this commitment, Dole Phil had already regularized 1,962 workers in response to the DOLE’s compliance order.