House oks ending "endo"

The House committee on labor and employment moved a step closer towards the passage of the much-awaited bills seeking to end the practices of contractualization and de-regularization of workers by approving the creation of a technical working group (TWG) that will consolidate all 25 measures pertaining to “endo.”

In a hearing held this week which was presided by committee chairman Rep. Randolph Ting (3rd District, Cagayan), the panel approved the creation of the TWG that will consolidate House Bills 55, 76, 170, 341, 556, 563, 709, 712, 895, 916, 1045, 1208, 1351, 1563, 1837, 1857, 1910, 2389, 3556, 3769, 3802, 4443, 4444, 5130 and 5264 which seek to strengthen the security of tenure of workers in the private sector by ending the practices of contractualization and de-regularization.

TUCP Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza

Ting said the TWG will use as reference in the TWG discussions House Bill 4444 authored by Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza (Party-list, TUCP), HB 556 by Rep. Ariel Casilao (Party-list, ANAKPAWIS) and HB 3556 by Rep. Mark Go (Lone District, Baguio City).

As to the composition of the TWG, Ting said this will include the authors of the bills, representatives of the different labor groups, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and other concerned agencies.

Mendoza said his bill aims to totally prohibit contracting, sub-contracting, manpower agency hiring, outsourcing, including those undertaken by so-called service cooperatives engaged in manpower supply.

“All workers must be treated as regular employees, doing away with other types or definitions of employment. Moreover, contractualization clashes with the principle of social justice enshrined in our Constitution and must therefore be criminalized. Thus the bill provides penal provisions against violators,” said Mendoza.

Casilao said alongside the Duterete administration’s plan to abolish contractualization, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and All Workers’ Unity have been demanding the end of contractualization schemes, a fundamental workers’ agenda presented to President Duterte since the campaign in 2016.

“With the end in view of uplifting the Filipino workers from deepening poverty and misery, prohibiting contractualization fundamentally shall protect the national interest and democratic ideals of Filipino society,” said Casilao.

Go said cases of violation on the prohibition on labor-only contracting and what is commonly called as “5-5-5” or “endo” have become rampant and unabated despite the provisions of the Labor Code and its implementing rules, DOLE Department Order 18-A.

“The guiding principles of DO 18-A provide: Contracting and sub-contracting arrangements are expressly allowed by law and are subject to regulations for the promotion of employment and the observance of the rights of workers to just and humane conditions of work, security of tenure, self-organization and collective bargaining. My bill seeks to regulate outsourcing of work by providing conditions for its practice and penalties for any violation,” said Go.

Go further said his proposal also seeks to resolve recurring problems in the practice of contractualization and to achieve a “win-win” solution for both the employees and employers, and as partners in attaining sustainable growth and development for the country.

The various labor groups and organizations and concerned agencies voiced out their respective position on the bills during the hearing. They also submitted their position papers to the committee.

The Associated Labor Unions (ALU)-Southern Mindanao and Northern Mindanao Region Offices, along with the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and the NAGKAISA Labor Coalition strongly called for the total prohibition of labor contractualization in all its forms.

The ALU-TUCP-NAGKAISA said there are 13 million contractual workers out of the 43.7 million workforce in the country. It is time to reverse the trend so that there will be more regular workers receiving the social benefit obligations due them from the employers, it said.

The group said the epidemic scale of contractualization is the primary reason why the soaring Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth numbers has not resulted in inclusive development. “There is a widening of the gap in income inequality because workers under contractualization are not given their SSS, Pag-IBIG, and PhilHEALTH benefits. And because regularization is not possible, they cannot organize unions through which they can bargain to get a fair share of the wealth they created,” the ALU-TUCP-NAGKAISA said.

The Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa or SENTRO, representing at least 80,000 members in the private, public and informal sectors, including migrant workers, women and the youth, expressed its support for proposals pertaining to “endo”, specifically HB 4444.

“The years spent by the government trying to regulate subcontracting has failed to protect workers. The reason is simple: indirect employment inherently results in inequity,” said SENTRO in its position paper.

Meanwhile, Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III, in a position paper, said the DOLE is not inclined to support the call for a total prohibition on contractualization because of its adverse effects on employment opportunities and industry competitiveness.

Bello said the practice of contracting and subcontracting is also a problem in other developed and developing countries, amidst intensified competition among firms due to globalization.

“The DOLE does not recommend ending contractualization as a practice. The Department, however, fervently believes that its abuse should be stopped and be meted with stricter or stiffer penalties, which can be made possible through legislation. Contractualization should not be allowed under abusive terms such as in labor-only contracting, which as defined in the Department Order No. 174, series of 2017, has the following nature or condition: The contractor or subcontractor has no substantial capital or does not have investments in the form of tools, equipment, machineries, supervision, work premises, among others; and the contractor’s or subcontractor’s employees recruited and placed are performing activities which are directly related to the main business operation of the principal; or the contractor’s or subcontractor’s employees recruited and placed are performing activities which are directly related to the main business operation of the principal,” said Bello.

Meanwhile, Maria Lourdes Yaptinchay, director of the Sector Planning Bureau (PB) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in a position paper submitted to the committee, said they are of the view that flexible work arrangements such as legitimate outsourcing and contracting-out work should remain and continue.

“Outlawing job contracting in general may not be in the best interest of our business and the economy. It may lead to the demise of legitimate contractors, which approximately employ 416,343 workers. Local companies/ business would, therefore be forced to directly employ workers to do the work that were previously contracted-out to manpower or contracting agencies, thereby increasing production/overhead cost by at least 30 percent which will lead to higher prices of goods,” said Yaptinchay.

The other authors of the bills seeking to end contractualization are Reps. Kaka Bag-ao, Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, Karlo Alexei Nograles, Tom Villarin, Winston Castelo, Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, Angelina Tan M.D., Harry Roque Jr., Emmi De Jesus, Carlos Isagani Zarate, Aniceto Bertiz III, Bernadette Herrera-Dy, Sol Aragones, Linabelle Ruth Villarica, Joseph Stephen Paduano, Arthur Yap, Manuel Zubiri, John Marvin Nieto, Sherwin Tugna, and Anthony Bravo. / Congress Press RBB

Nagkaisa dismayed over Duterte’s non-mention of security of tenure in SONA

Nagkaisa Labor Coalition expressed dismay over the SONA of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for failing to address the issue of contractualization. "His silence is a great disappointment for workers as we were expecting him to announce the release of an executive order prohibiting all forms of contracualitzation," Nagkaisa said.

"For two hours, we were waiting for President Duterte to certify as urgent House Bills 4444 and 556 on Security of Tenure, but no announcement came," Nagkaisa added.

It could be recalled that during a dialogue with Nagkaisa and other labor groups on Labor Day in Davao City, President Duterte vowed to look into releasing an executive order. "That issuance would have superceded DOLE DO 174 released in late March that not only failed to prohibit all forms of contractualization, but abetted it," Nagkaisa said. He set a deadline of May 10 for labor groups to submit a draft EO.

"Nagkaisa, the National Anti-Poverty Commission, KMU and other labor groups submitted a common, unified draft two days before the deadline. Two and a half months later, we still haven't gotten any feedback," Nagkaisa said.

Nagkaisa also expressed deep concern over President Duterte's announcement of right-sizing in government.

"How can they talk about right-sizing when there are 595,000 job orders and contracts of service workers performing essential functions in government? They are the overworked and underpaid in government, many of whom are health workers and teachers," Nagkaisa said.

Nagkaisa is not pleased with the Tax Reform Package Bill in its present form, so it did not welcome President's Duterte's endorsement of it.

"Tax Reform Administration should be the first tax measure that Congress approves in order to improve tax collection and prosecute tax evaders. We also support the reduction of Personal Income Tax (PIT), but reject the lowering of Corporate Income Tax (CIT). It is the taxes on profits that should be increased," Nagkaisa added.

"Besides, adding on to the tax burden of workers at this point in time would be a double whammy as it seems our taxes will be used to fund the war in Mindanao," Nagkaisa said.

The President defended the extension of Martial Law for much of his SONA. NAGKAISA reiterates its opposition to the extension or expansion of Martial Law based on the following grounds:

1. It is not necessary;

2. It will be very expensive;

3. It is unproductive and is a disincentive to economic progress;

4. It weakens our democratic institutions; and

5. It strengthens the hands of the totalitarians.

"We believe that lawlessness in many forms can be addressed by a highly professional and effective military/police leadership. Ensuring professionalism and quality armed services is where Presidential powers are best exercised," Nagkaisa said.

Workers ‘frustrated’ over failed promise on ‘endo’

THE country’s biggest labor groups were frustrated and felt neglected by President Rodrigo Duterte’s failure to lay down a clear-cut policy on work contracting and other forms of short-term employment during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), through spokesman Alan Tanjusay, on Tuesday said 25 to 30 million contractual workers were expecting that the President will fulfill his promise to end the contractualization scheme during his speech.

“We are very frustrated with Mr. Duterte as it turned out but we have no choice but to continue and [raise]the ante in pressing him to fulfill his promise to abolish endo (end of contract) and all forms of contractualization,” Tanjusay said in a text message to The Manila Times.

He added that only the fulfillment of the President’s campaign promise and subsequent meetings with leaders of various labor groups to put a stop to all forms of contractualization can free millions of workers from the “slavery” of contractualized work , jobs that have no security of tenure and paid with low wages and meager benefits.

“Mr. Duterte asked labor groups for time on the issue of contractualization on Labor Day. We hope that he would abolish it as he promised he would during his SONA,” Tanjusay said.

“We urge the President to make clear in no uncertain terms, in plain, categorical language, his placing the contractual problem as among our—and his—top priorities in the national order of battle. All surveys indicate that the Top 3 concerns nationally are the spiralling the cost of goods and services, the meager wages and the lack of decent employment. All are directly traceable to the regime of contractualization,” according to the ALU-TUCP spokesman.

The group noted that during their May 1 Labor Day dialogue with Duterte in Davao City, the President asked labor leaders to draft a presidential Executive Order (EO).

The draft EO was submitted by the ALU-TUCP and the Nagkakaisa Labor Coalition last May 9 in compliance with the President’s directive.

Covered by the EO are contracting and sub-contracting arrangements including cooperatives.

The order prohibited all forms of labor contracting, labor-only contracting or job contracting, which are declared illegal and are therefore strictly prohibited.

It stated, “All parties engaged in any arrangement in violation of this EO shall automatically be considered the worker’s direct employer and the latter shall be deemed as direct employees.”

The order said violations of the EO shall be penalized under existing laws and regulations.

If the offense is committed by cooperative, corporation, partnership, trust, firm, association or any juridical entity, the penalty shall be imposed upon the guilty officers of such groups.

The draft EO, if approved by the President, will effectively nullify Department Order (DO) 174 of the Department of Labor and Employment, the new guidelines on contractualization that took effect last April 3.

DO 174 replaced DO 18-A in response to the workers’s demand to abolish contractualization.

Labor groups rejected DO 174, claiming that it only benefits employers and manpower service providers and cooperatives.

During his meeting with organized labor in Davao City, the President assured them that he understood what the workers want and suggested that “we assert our public interest power to ensure a just transition to help him meet his promise to the nation.”

“I stand firm on my conviction to end endo. Just give us time. The Labor Code guarantees all the right to security of tenure. This has to be strictly enforced. Labor laws must be enforced against endo and labor-only contracting,” Duterte told the workers.

The President admitted in the labor dialogue that there is “resistance and objections” coming from some members of his Cabinet and interest lobby groups on his decision to ban contractualization “but the President said he has no sympathy for oligarchs.” - By WILLIAM DEPASUPIL, TMT

Workers fear ‘endo’ vow now on the back burner

Labor groups are seeing their hope for an end to contractualization—as what President Duterte committed on several occasions since the campaign period—dim by the day, especially with the Chief Executive opting to evade the labor issue in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday.

For Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, however, the President has already fulfilled his promise of ending “illegal contractualization”.

“What is left now is the issue on contractualization, because what the workers wanted is that there is total prohibition,” he said. “But we told them that it is not possible because there is a law that allows employers to get contractual workers,” he added. For example, he said, if an employer wanted to get a security guard for his company, he could hire one from a manpower agency. Also, if a company wanted to get janitors, it could hire from an agency. “We cannot tell employers to stop it because we have a law on that,” he added.

But the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) and Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) disagree, which is why they were disappointed when Duterte did not mention in his second Sona how he intends to put an end to the practice of fixed-term employment. Moreover, theKMU said it is becoming obvious the President will not be able to junk contractualization under his six-year term.

“I don’t find any concrete and substantial commitment with regard to labor issues and other important issues of the masses. The President’s Sona is not for the common people,” KMU Chairman Elmer C. Labog told the BusinessMirror.

ALU-TUCP Spokesman Alan A. Tanjusay said they are still hoping for the issuance an executive order (EO) banning contractualization as a mode of employment. “Of course, [we still expect him to end contractualization], not only because ALU-TUCP wanted it, but, most important, because he promised it,” Tanjusay told the BusinessMirror.

However, Tanjusay said as much as ALU-TUCP wanted to give the Chief Executive time to resolve the labor issue, it wonders how long should workers wait for labor reforms to be enacted.

“We are willing to give him the time he said he would need in delivering the promises he made to the Filipino people, but how long are we going to wait? Until when will the workers have to hope in him?” Tanjusay added.

Duterte, during the campaign, vowed to outlaw contractualization—particularly the hiring practice known as endo—a promise that earned him the support of several labor groups. However, a year after and two Sona later, Duterte has yet to comply with the appeal of the labor movement for an EO scrapping contractualization.

What labor groups got, instead, was a department order issued in March by Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III imposing tighter regulations on contractual arrangements. Labor groups and economists have since criticized Bello’s order, saying it was redundant with existing laws and it oversimplifies the labor market.

Striking while the iron is hot, labor groups demanded one after the other reforms under the Duterte administration, including a P184 across-the-board wage increase for Metro Manila-based workers, after getting the Chief Executive’s commitment to end contractualization.

Much to the labor groups’ dismay, however, Duterte made no mention of scrapping fixed-term employment and increasing wages in his second Sona. On top of this, Malacañang has yet to divulge any information on the status of the draft EO seeking to scrap contractualization submitted by ALU-TUCP on May 9.

But Bello insisted that there is no more endo (or end of contract), a term referring to the practice of employers to hire employees on repeated five-month contracts to go around the law requiring them to hire on a regular basis any employee who has worked for them for six months.

“Endo has stopped, because the President has already told employers and managers to stop,” Bello said, noting that “when the President said there would be no more contractualization, what he meant was that there would be no more illegal contractualization”.

He said they have corrected this practice in some big companies, such as in the country’s leading chain of supermalls, “where we asked the management to regularize their salesgirls, for instance, because the salesgirls are necessary workers in the malls”.

He said the SM Group has committed to comply, “but only gradually”, the same request made by leading food chains, citing the huge number of their workers.

Jollibee, for instance, has more than 50,000 workers “and has asked that they be allowed to gradually implement regularization”.

However, Bello admitted that there were still many shopping malls, department stores and food chains that continue to violate the law on contractualization.

So far, the labor department has monitored the regularization of 61,000 contractual workers in a span of one year, or since the President announced the end of the practice of endo. - By Elijah Felice Rosales With Manuel Cayon / Business Mirror


http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/workers-fear-endo-vow-now-on-the-back-burner/

Martial law extension or expansion will be a very expensive, unproductive experiment

The battle of Marawi has already entered its 9th week. And it won't be over until everything gets back to normal.  In fact, it is the normalization and rehabilitation part of this conflict which is a bigger war to win since failure in this aspect, we believe, will only create more conflict in this highly stratified region of the country.

We anticipate, though, that Marawi will ultimately fall back into the hands of our government forces.  War ultimately ends even without a victor. What it leaves, definitely, are the enormous humanitarian costs that will be very difficult to measure.  The Marawi war has already claimed at least 500 lives and created more than 200,000 bakwits.  Thousands of livelihoods were also lost as the city was razed into the ground by aerial bombings and fierce ground battles. Furthermore, the declaration of martial law has endangered civilians' free exercise of human rights in the entire island of Mindanao.

The Supreme Court has already ruled on the legality of the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao but the 60-day duration of Proclamation 216 is set to expire on July 22, 2017.  Hence, the President, Congress and the entire nation now face a bothering question on whether the Martial Law in Mindanao should be extended or be expanded to cover the entire Philippines.  The House leadership, when asked, is even willing to extend and expand Martial Law for the entire term of the President or until 2022.

NAGKAISA labor coalition declares its opposition to the extension or expansion of Martial Law based on the following grounds: 

1.     It is not necessary;

2.     It will be very expensive;  

3.     It is unproductive and is a disincentive to economic progress;

4.     It weakens our democratic institutions; and

5.     It strengthens the hands of the totalitarians.

We find no compelling reason to warrant its extension or expansion at this point in time.  We believe that lawlessness in many forms can be addressed by a highly professional and effective military/police leadership. Ensuring professionalism and quality armed services is where Presidential powers are best exercised.  

Furthermore, extending this kind of war for a much longer time and carried out on a nationwide scale will become a very expensive experiment for a country whose development is highly dependent on loans and regressive taxes. It is therefore unacceptable to see the proposed expansion of VAT and imposition of excise taxes on oil, automobiles and sugar drinks funding not a social program but infrastructure for war. 

Lastly, it will be very unproductive for the President to spend his remaining years in office for this costly war.  War is both destruction and political distraction.  It neither creates nor equally redistributes social wealth that is now concentrated in the hands of oligarchs.

The President, in other words, has a better war to wage and win against contractualization, low wages, and high prices of basic goods and services.  If you want peace, Mr. President, build social justice and economic inclusion first. 

Dito ka namin gustong maramdaman.

Labor hopes for abolition of job contractualization

GRASSROOTS workers remain hopeful that President Rodrigo Duterte will address their concerns in his coming second State-of-the-Nation Address, particularly their long demand for the abolition of work contractualization.

Taking the cudgels for the estimated 25 to 30 million contractual workers, the group Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), in a statement over the weekend, called on the President to address the issues of unemployment and underemployment, and the falling buying power of the existing daily minimum wage.

"The Duterte one-year honeymoon period with the people is over. It is now time for action. Grassroots workers and their families want to know from the President the Duterte roadmap to address falling wages, joblessness and underemployment with five years left in his term. We want to know [his]plan on how to make economic growth benefit workers who helped built that wealth and how he intends to accomplish them," ALU spokesman Alan Tanjusay said.

The ALU-TUCP is the biggest workers' organization in the country registered with the Department of Labor and Employment.

Although majority of its members come from the banking, manufacturing, services and agricultural sectors, it also has members in the public sector and the informal-economy sector.

According to the group, there are close to 12 million unemployed and underemployed individuals while the purchasing power of the daily pay fell from 24 percent to 27 percent in highly urbanized Metro Manila and in 16 other regions nationwide in view of a 3.4 percent inflation rate announced by the government in March this year.

It said short-term endo (end of contract) or contractualized workers, numbering 25 to 30 million working in hotels, restaurants, malls, factories and plantations nationwide are hopeful that the President would come up with an Executive Order (EO) that outlaws the temporary work arrangement.

In his May 1 Labor Day speech, Duterte asked workers for time on his campaign promise to abolish job contractualization, asking the Nagkaisa labor coalition group to draft for him to sign an EO that obliges direct-hiring, does away with labor contractors and cooperatives and eradicates fixed-term employment.

"The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer because workers' wages and benefits are inadequate. There are no new decent jobs created and if there are jobs, they carry no security of tenure and skills and jobs are mismatched. There is no trickle-down effect. There is no genuine progress because of these inequalities," Tanjusay said. - BY WILLIAM DEPASUPIL, The Manila Times

Labor union to wage board, employers: Try living on P357 a day

The P491 minimum wage in Metro Manila has a real value of only P357, based on National Wages and Productivity Commission data

SEEKING JOBS. Unemployed Filipinos at a job fair. Rappler file photo

MANILA, Philippines – Labor unions expressed their growing frustration to the wage-setting board as they again appealed for a minimum wage hike during a public consultation on Thursday, July 6.

Associated Labor Unions (ALU) spokesperson Alan Tanjusay even posed a challenge to members of the tripartite wage board of the National Capital Region (NCR), which is composed of representatives from the labor sector, employers, and the government.

In presenting ALU's proposal, Tanjusay said they are just asking the tripartite wage board to restore the purchasing value of the P491 minimum wage. Data from the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) show it currently has a real value of P357.

"Imagine P357, pagkakasyahin mo. Hinahamon ko po ang miyembro ng wage board, subukan po kaya natin na i-challenge na mabuhay ng P357 sa isang araw," Tanjusay told the board.

(Imagine you'll have to budget P357. I challenge the members of the wage board, try living on P357 a day.)

He stressed that this amount is not only for a single person but for a family of 5 people.

"How will this affect our workers? They'll be forced to buy the cheapest food for their family. That means less nutritious food for you and your family," he added in Filipino. (READ: Is the minimum wage enough for a day's worth of nutritious meals?)

Petitions

ALU is seeking a P184 across-the-board wage hike nationwide. Other groups such as the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) are asking for a P259 increase while the Association of Minimum Wage Earners and Advocates (AMWEA) wants the minimum wage to be raised to P1,200 in 4 tranches.

"This wage increase petition, it's the only hope of the workers to augment their earnings," said TUCP's Raffy Mapalo.

While the wage board secretariat said the Philippines has the highest minimum wage among its Southeast Asian counterparts, Mapalo argued that this information should be assessed vis-à-vis the real needs of workers.

"Let us look beyond the wage but the prices of commodities in each country and the productivity of the Filipino workers," he said.

All 3 groups lamented that previous increases have ranged from just P10 to P15.

Tanjusay said ALU filed its petition "in protest," accusing the board of not being responsive to workers' needs. He stressed their call to abolish the regional wage-setting scheme and establish a national board to set a uniform wage. (READ: Is it time for a national minimum wage?)

Management side

Board Chairperson Johnson Cañete said they will be taking note of the sentiments of the workers, but would still have to consult with other stakeholders before deciding. The board will have a consultation with employers on July 14 and another dialogue with the labor groups on July 27.

"We will also be looking into how much can be given," Cañete told Rappler in an interview after the consultation. "The employers should be able to afford the petition of the workers. We should balance the interests."

The board's employer representative Vicente Leogardo Jr, who is also the director-general of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), said granting the wage hike would afftect micro, small, and medium enterprises the most, which comprise 91% of businesses in the country.

Meanwhile, for ECOP president Donald Dee, both employers and workers should think outside the box in resolving the wage issue.

Dee told Rappler that he has crafted a "social contract" with labor groups that would "increase the purchasing power of the peso."

The contract includes a commitment to construct a dormitory for workers paid for by employers so they don't have to spend on daily transportation. They will also be jointly asking the government to provide free Wi-Fi and equalize the power rates of factories inside and outside special economic zones.

"In a month or so we will be signing a new social contract with the labor groups... We will be submitting to the government, part of our commitment voluntarily working together. We are proposing to the government, we're doing these things but they must act," said Dee.

While amenable to this agreement, ALU-TUCP is still banking on the approval of their proposal to provide a P500 subsidy to minimum wage earners.

Tanjusay said President Rodrigo Duterte has agreed to this scheme. The workers have already submitted a proposal to the Department of Budget and Management on how this can be operationalized. – Rappler.com

Labor group mocks govt’s work scheme

THE labor group Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) mocked the government's much ballyhooed effort in regularizing 50,000 contractual workers since July last year.

It said the government failed to assist the five percent of the  25 to 30-million contractual workers in the country to become regular workers.

The ALU-TUCP said workers in the manufacturing, services and agricultural sectors nationwide were still employed under the contractualized work arrangement without security of tenure, deprived of the right to form unions, and unable to claim lawful benefits accorded to directly hired, regular workers.

"President Rodrigo Duterte should act on his campaign promise to eliminate the rampant temporary contractualized work arrangement and make an impact on the lives of workers by raising the level of the daily minimum pay," the labor group said.

"Mr. Duterte had asked us on May 1 Labor day dialogue with labor groups to give him time on the issue of contractualization. We are calling on him to make up his mind now because millions of contractual workers are on the line, waiting and hoping to fulfill his promise to end it," ALU-TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said.

The ALU-TUCP also urged Duterte to make a meaningful impact in the lives of workers by raising the level of the daily minimum wage and enforce policies toward lowering the rising cost of living.

The labor group claimed the purchasing power of the country's highest minimum wage of P491 had eroded by 27 percent by second week of April 2017. 

The real value of Metro Manila's daily minimum wage is currently pegged at P357—excluding mandatory social insurance deductions, records from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the National Wages and Productivity Commission show.

"No family can survive with P357 per day. Mr. Duterte has to directly and indirectly raise the level of workers' wages and enforce a set of policies that would lower the rising cost of living if he wants to fulfil his promise to improve the lives of the Filipinos under his presidency," Tanjusay said.

The ALU-TUCP has also submitted a proposal to Malacañang calling on Duterte to give P500 monthly cash subsidy to all minimum wage workers through cash vouchers in the purchase of basic commodities and payment of utilities. - By Vito Barcelo