BPOs seen as ‘hotbeds’ for illegal workers

Amid the continuing controversy surrounding the arrest of illegal Chinese workers in Pampanga last year, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) yesterday raised the alarm over possible similar violations taking place in business process outsourcing (BPO) and construction industries.

Alan Tanjusay, TUCP spokesman, said the BPO and construction industries are among the sectors where there are many illegally-employed foreign workers.

"We are closely monitoring the BPOs, especially call centers, which are employing foreign nationals. We are also consistently getting reports that undocumented Chinese nationals continue to fly in to work in the construction of buildings and power plants," said Tanjusay.

He said TUCP gets these reports from companies based in Metro Manila and in Central Luzon and Calabarzon.

Of the illegal foreign workers, majority are believed to be Chinese and Koreans.

Tanjusay estimates the  number of illegal foreign workers at around 3,000.

More than 1,000 Chinese workers were arrested for working without Alien Employment Permits (AEPs) in Clark, Pampanga last November.

During last Monday's Senate inquiry on the Bureau of Immigration (BI) bribery scandal, Sen. Joel Villanueva said there is a need to review the laws on the issuance of AEPs as well as special working permits.

The TUCP, then, called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to help make sure that rules and regulations on employing foreign workers are strictly enforced.

"We urge DOLE to enforce our labor laws and for employers, especially foreign employers, to faithfully comply with the required AEP," said Tanjusay.

Under the law, foreign workers are required to apply and secure AEPs before they are allowed to work in the country.

An AEP is a document issued by DOLE authorizing a foreign national to work in the Philippines.

Tanjusay said TUCP hopes the Senate inquiry will result to the necessary changes in the policy gaps concerning the policies covering the hiring of foreigners.

"We hope the Senate hearing will result to stronger and routine inspections of workplaces nationwide so that foreign workers will also be protected against abuses of their employers in the same way that local Filipino workers are protected under our existing laws," said Tanjusay.

Aside from the AEPs issued by DOLE, the BI is also allowed to issue special working permits to foreigners. - Malaya By GERARD NAVAL January 25, 2017

Labor group calls for reforms in SSS

THE country's biggest labor group has joined calls for internal reforms in the state-run Social Security Sytems (SSS) to better manage the pension fund for more than 34 million members from the private sector.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Sunday said the SSS need not impose a 1.5-percent increase in member contributions to offset the P1,000 pension hike approved by the President last week.

TUCP General Secretary Arnel Dolendo called for an efficient collection system and a drive against companies that do not remit the SSS contributions of their workers.

"SSS must improve its collection efficiency and stop corruption in the system. What happened to those companies that deducted monthly contributions from their employees but did not remit them to the SSS?" Dolendo said in a statement.

The TUCP also called on the SSS to trim its bureaucracy and staff and rationalize remunerations and benefits for SSS commissioners and top executives.

"What SSS did not tell President Duterte is that there is still room to slash the SSS operational budget to more reasonable levels so that an additional contribution will not be required. Another issue is that in the manner SSS invests its fund, SSS must make placements more strategic to bring up the fund," the labor group added.

The P1,000 hike in pensions is only half of the original P2,000 promised by the President during the election campaign. The SSS plans to give another P1,000 increase by 2019 at the earliest, depending on the status of its fund.

The contribution rate of members will be increased by 1.5 percent, or to 12 percent from 11 percent, to shore up the SSS fund life.

Earlier, the Associated Labor Unions (ALU) called on the new leadership of the SSS to fix its system first before requiring new contributions from 14 million paying members out of the 34 million registered members.

"There would be significant improvement in the fund life of SSS if these reforms are enforced. Resorting to quick fix and the path of least resistance raises doubts about ability of SSS commissioners to trim corporate fat. We suggest to President Duterte to direct the SSS to open their books and consult with workers," said ALU spokesman Alan Tanjusay.

Tanjusay claimed workers' daily purchasing power had been reduced by at least 30 percent because of rising prices of basic commodities services. Water and electricity bills are also expected to rise, he said. - By WILLIAM DEPASUPIL, TMT   

NAGKAISA denounces misrepresentation of Ruben Torres and Usec Say on worker-DOLE consensus that contractualization cannot be prohibited

NAGKAISA, including the legitimate TUCP President Raymond Mendoza, a co-convenor of NAGKAISA and the author of HB No.4444 which will prohibit and criminalize contractualization, denounce in clear, categorical terms the underhanded attempt of Mr. Ruben Torres and apparently, DOLE Undersecretary Say, to misrepresent to media after the dialogue with Secretary Bello last Thursday, that a consensus was reached with labor leaders that contractualization is inevitable.

That is the very opposite of what legitimate labor federations under NAGKAISA, who constituted 90% of the groups meeting Sec. Bello last Thursday manifested jointly to the Secretary: That we rely on the Presidential promise to end contractualization, and that we look towards an Executive Order to proscribe it in the meantime and towards passage of a Presidentially-certified bill (in the guise of HB No.4444) which will end contractualization).

NAGKAISA is shocked and dismayed that news reports of the Worker-DOLE dialogue on how to end and prohibit contractualization are now being presented as a trade union-government lovefest where both sides reached the same conclusion: that contractualization is here to stay.

Their action constitutes the highest form of betrayal to workers who only want a fair deal. Ruben Torres' acceptance of the continuation of contractualization for janitors, security guards and salesgirls is craven opportunism of the worst kind, sacrificing the lives of the poorest workers while invoking the name of trade unions for personal advancement. He clearly does not represent the true majority interest of labor.

Our true collective position remains firm: that contractualization is oppression of workers' rights which allows employers to avoid giving workers a living wage and to deny them a decent life. This is the very reason that we requested that Sec. Bello work out our request for an audience with the President.

Furthermore, the seemingly coordinated statements of former Labor Secretary Ruben Torres, now resurrected and posing as a labor leader of a rump-group TUCP ( the DOLE itself has ruled with finality that his purported federation is not even a part of TUCP, and by that very logic Mr. Torres IS NOT EVEN A MEMBER of TUCP) and apparent partnering of DOLE Undersecretary Say, show the moral depravity that the enemies of workers will stoop to.

We will not allow this underhanded misrepresentation of our position to remain uncorrected. Mr. Torres and his co-horts the Eric Gutierrez-backed Roland de la Cruz , last seen, after their gleeful endorsement of the Presidential bid of Mar Roxas, are now trying to make themselves relevant as apologists of the unbridled free-market, labor-flexibilization schemes which the employers prefer as their justification to abuse the Filipino working class.

Mr. Torres is no way a part of the legitimate TUCP, nor of the larger workers movement. 

Media coverage would have it appear through their interviews that the meeting last Thursday at the DOLE between workers and top DOLE officials led by Secretary Bello was a veritable lovefest. What happened was the DOLE announced that they would have to go to the drawing board to do a new Department Order on contractualization NAGKAISA only reminded the DOLE that what they will craft, and the bill which we should ask be certified, live up to President Duterte's promise: END IT! STOP IT!

Nagkaisa statement on Dialogue with DOLE

The NAGKAISA labor coalition spoiled the premature celebrations of employers and contractors over reports that a new DOLE Department Order 168 was issued over the New Year which NAGKAISA feels essentially was a product of the proposed "win-win" solution proposed by DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez.

 NAGKAISA had launched mass actions and an appeal to President Duterte, to signal opposition to draft department  orders circulating which apparently would allow an army of non-regular, contractor deployed "seasonal" & "project" workers to supplant the despised "endo" system of contractualization.President Duterte had made a campaign commitment to end contractualization which he reiterated in his year-end interview with media. NAGKAISA warned that the supposed DO would perpetuate the contractualization policy that the President promised would be stopped

Today DOLE senior officials led by Sec. Silvestre Bello announced to the convenors of the NAGKAISA that there is no Department Order. Bello said that he was willing to listen to the workers comments to craft a fresh DO. Bello directed all his Undersecretaries to come out with separate drafts and that this would then be consolidated by the DOLE to a version on January 13, which will be referred to the NATIONAL TRIPARTITE INDUSTRIAL PEACE COUNCIL. This will be subjected to Tripartite consultations and will be issued as DO 1, series of 2017 when approved.

NAGKAISA formally requested Sec. Bello to set up an audience with President Duterte where workers will appeal for passage of an Executive Order which will serve as a stop-gap measure to proscribe contractualization until a new law amending the Labor Code is passed. NAGKAISA further requested that the President certify as an urgent Administration measure House Bill no. 4444 "WORKERS BILL STRENGTHENING SECURITY OF TENURE" (Rep. Raymond Mendoza, TUCP Partylist). HB 4444 will prohibit all forms of short term employment contracts and criminalize it. 

No to ENDO!

Stop all forms of Contractualization

DO30 in Breach of DU30’s Campaign Promise, Workers’ Reiterate Call to End all Forms of Contractualization