Security of tenure bill shouldn't shut out employers, says solon
By AJ Siytangco
Published Nov 6, 2019 04:59 pm
By Ellson Quismorio
The proposed security of tenure bill in the 18th Congress shouldn't be 100-percent favorable to laborers, Deputy Speaker and SAGIP Party-List Rep. Rodante Marcoleta said Wednesday.
Deputy Speaker and SAGIP Party-List Rep. Rodante Marcoleta
(SAGIP Party-List via Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) Marcoleta, in a hearing held by the House Committee Labor and Employment, said that the employers, who provide the capital needed to hire laborers, must also get their piece of the pie, so to speak. "Why are we so fixated about security of tenure?... Why not also talk about security of capital? There are two sides of the coin here. Hindi pwedeng magkaroon ng labor na walang capital, hindi pwedeng magkaroon ng capital without labor. This is the issue kasi, the very elusive holy grail...Itong issue na ito mahirap balansehin eh," he said. (Labor can't exist without capital, and capital can't exist without labor. Because this is the issue, the very elusive holy grail...this issue is difficult to balance.) "Huwag naman kunin lahat ng labor 100 percent. Pag mayroon ka na siguro 80 percent or 70 percent, baka OK na iyon (The labor sector shouldn't get 100 percent. If you already have 80 percent or 70 percent, maybe that's enough). You also have to leave room for the other party," added the at-times outspoken House leader. Committee chairman, 1-PACMAN Party-List Rep. Enrico Pineda said the hearing was called to provide an avenue for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to "inform the employers' sector regarding what provisions they have changed or inserted in their draft House Bill that was submitted to the President last month." "They just showed exactly what they included in the original House bill that was vetoed," Pineda said. Last July, President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed or thumbed down the security of tenure bill that was produced by the previous 17th Congress. The measure was supposed to end the longtime practice of contractualization in the Philippines. Under this abused cycle, workers are hired, fired and re-hired in five-month intervals sans the benefit of regular employees. "Gusto natin siguraduhin na hindi dehado yung mga employees at may balanse din sa employer (We want to make sure that employees won't be at a disadvantage, and that it would strike a balance for the employers)," Probinsyano Ako Party-List Rep. Bonito Singson said on the sidelines of the hearing. "Kasi masyadong lopsided sa employers that's why na-veto ni Presidente yun (The bill was lopsided for employers, that's why the President vetoed it)," added Singson, who is a Deputy Minority Leader. Representing DOLE in the hearing was Assistant Secretary Regional Operations and Special Concerns Benjo Santos Benavidez, who agreed with Marcoleta as far as the difficult balancing act was concerned. "There actually is no ideal set up for this issue," Benavidez said. "One sector may be calling for absolute prohibition, the other sector may be calling for, lahat na lang pwedeng ipa-kontrata (everything can be contracted)." He said the department doesn't favor total prohibition of fixed term employment. "The DOLE stands on the ground that, we just regulate. We allow some, we prohibit some. And that's what this version stands for: Strict regulation of contracting and sub-contracting, recognition of the workers' rights to security of tenure as well as exercise of management prerogatives," he explained. Marcoleta said he hopes that DOLE's proposals "would work out." "Because these are supposed to be improvements to the law. If we can concentrate on these proposals and fine-tune them....we're not talking about a very ideal situation. Wala namang ideal kasi (There is no such thing as ideal). But labor must also recognize capital. Capital should also need labor." Pineda said a technical working group will work to improve on the measure in the coming days.
Deputy Speaker and SAGIP Party-List Rep. Rodante Marcoleta(SAGIP Party-List via Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) Marcoleta, in a hearing held by the House Committee Labor and Employment, said that the employers, who provide the capital needed to hire laborers, must also get their piece of the pie, so to speak. "Why are we so fixated about security of tenure?... Why not also talk about security of capital? There are two sides of the coin here. Hindi pwedeng magkaroon ng labor na walang capital, hindi pwedeng magkaroon ng capital without labor. This is the issue kasi, the very elusive holy grail...Itong issue na ito mahirap balansehin eh," he said. (Labor can't exist without capital, and capital can't exist without labor. Because this is the issue, the very elusive holy grail...this issue is difficult to balance.) "Huwag naman kunin lahat ng labor 100 percent. Pag mayroon ka na siguro 80 percent or 70 percent, baka OK na iyon (The labor sector shouldn't get 100 percent. If you already have 80 percent or 70 percent, maybe that's enough). You also have to leave room for the other party," added the at-times outspoken House leader. Committee chairman, 1-PACMAN Party-List Rep. Enrico Pineda said the hearing was called to provide an avenue for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to "inform the employers' sector regarding what provisions they have changed or inserted in their draft House Bill that was submitted to the President last month." "They just showed exactly what they included in the original House bill that was vetoed," Pineda said. Last July, President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed or thumbed down the security of tenure bill that was produced by the previous 17th Congress. The measure was supposed to end the longtime practice of contractualization in the Philippines. Under this abused cycle, workers are hired, fired and re-hired in five-month intervals sans the benefit of regular employees. "Gusto natin siguraduhin na hindi dehado yung mga employees at may balanse din sa employer (We want to make sure that employees won't be at a disadvantage, and that it would strike a balance for the employers)," Probinsyano Ako Party-List Rep. Bonito Singson said on the sidelines of the hearing. "Kasi masyadong lopsided sa employers that's why na-veto ni Presidente yun (The bill was lopsided for employers, that's why the President vetoed it)," added Singson, who is a Deputy Minority Leader. Representing DOLE in the hearing was Assistant Secretary Regional Operations and Special Concerns Benjo Santos Benavidez, who agreed with Marcoleta as far as the difficult balancing act was concerned. "There actually is no ideal set up for this issue," Benavidez said. "One sector may be calling for absolute prohibition, the other sector may be calling for, lahat na lang pwedeng ipa-kontrata (everything can be contracted)." He said the department doesn't favor total prohibition of fixed term employment. "The DOLE stands on the ground that, we just regulate. We allow some, we prohibit some. And that's what this version stands for: Strict regulation of contracting and sub-contracting, recognition of the workers' rights to security of tenure as well as exercise of management prerogatives," he explained. Marcoleta said he hopes that DOLE's proposals "would work out." "Because these are supposed to be improvements to the law. If we can concentrate on these proposals and fine-tune them....we're not talking about a very ideal situation. Wala namang ideal kasi (There is no such thing as ideal). But labor must also recognize capital. Capital should also need labor." Pineda said a technical working group will work to improve on the measure in the coming days.