Gabriela Women’s Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas led fellow members of the Makabayan bloc in filing a House bill (HB) with the goal of ending the contractualization or “endo” (end of contract) workers.
Brosas, alongside ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel filed HB 2173, which aims to prohibit and penalize job contracting, subcontracting, direct-hiring of contractuals, and use of labor cooperatives through fines and imprisonment for violators.
She issued a challenge to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son of the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., to end the practice of contractualization.
“We are seeking to absolutely end any vestige of contractualization which was first institutionalized under Marcos Sr.'s 1974 Labor Code under Articles 106 to 109. Hamon kay Marcos Jr. na alisin na ang sumpa ng kontraktwalisasyon sa mga manggagawa (We challenge Marcos Jr. to end the curse of contractualization). Regular jobs and security of tenure should be the norm rather than the exception," said Brosas in a statement on Wednesday, July 20.
"Aabot sa hanggang P10 milyong multa o di kaya ay 3 taon na pagkakulong ang parusa sa mga employer at contractor nito na magpapatupad ng iskemang kontraktwalisasyon. Kailangan nating ituring na krimen ang kontraktwalisasyon (Employers who practice a contractualization scheme will face fines of up to P10 million or up to three years in prison. Contractualization must be considered a crime),” Brosas continued.
She noted that the majority of contractual workers with low pay and no security of tenure are women. Contractual workers lack the benefits of plantilla positions and workers’ unions.
"We will gather the broadest support for this measure in the 19th Congress and push it again forward until it reaches the President's desk. This time, we hope that it will not be vetoed,” she concluded, referring to the fate of the previous anti-contractualization bill.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte, in 2019, vetoed the passage of the Anti-Endo or Security of Tenure Bill, claiming that it was unfair to employers.
Read:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/27/palace-working-out-a-compromise-on-anti-endo-bill/
https://mb.com.ph/2019/07/26/labor-groups-cry-betrayal-after-duterte-vetoes-security-of-tenure-bill/