A party-list lawmaker this week called for a congressional probe into the widespread use of contractual labor by which thousands of workers in Mindanao were deprived the right to security of tenure, decent pay and other privileges under labor laws.
In his resolution, TUCP Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza, vice chairman of the House committee on labor and employment, labor-only contracting is circumventing the labor code and denying workers the right to security of tenure, self-organization, collective bargaining, decent wages and occupational safety and health.
He cited the example of one fruit exporter that terminated the services of more than 2,000 of its workers in North Cotabato and simply replaced them with contractual workers from a cooperative and a manpower agency.
“The use of tax-exempt cooperatives which supplied workers to the company is clearly exploitative of the rights of the agricultural workers and exposing them to substandard wages, no overtime pay and without 13th month pay,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza’s revelations are a cause for concern, but are hardly surprising, given that most of us deal with contractual labor every time we visit a mall or patronize a fast food chain. In fact, we suggest that Mendoza’s focus is too narrow, and should be broadened to include the widespread use of contractual labor in the retail and services industry—including the media.
This same phenomenon is the subject of a bill filed by Gabriela Women’s Party Reps. Emmi de Jesus and Luzviminda Ilagan, which was referred to Mendoza’s committee in May.
“Contractual employment has long been a bane for the Filipino workers and people,” the explanatory note in House Bill 4396 reads. “While it surely allows capitalists to rake in bigger profits, it has not brought about anything beneficial to workers. Contractuals receive wages that are lower than those received by regulars and are denied various benefits. They can be removed from work any time and therefore find a hard time forming unions and asserting their rights. Women contractuals are denied maternity benefits, especially in the havens of contractualization in the country—the export processing zones, malls and other segments of the service sector of the economy.”
For anyone who is serious about inclusive growth, these arguments are compelling.
Unfortunately for workers, the Aquino administration has done little to curb the practice of labor contracting, and has in fact clothed it in legality by issuing guidelines on its use.
This, De Jesus argued, virtually teaches private companies how to “contractualize” their workforce in a legal way, and as a result, contractual workers now outnumber regular employees.
Ilagan added that contractual employment makes it easier for companies to lay off workers, leading to widespread unemployment.
HB 4396 is a good starting point to address a serious national issue. Any attempt to move it forward, however, should be shorn of rhetoric and approach the problem in a pragmatic way that takes into account why companies turn to contractual labor—and take steps to ensure that doing so becomes economically unattractive. - By Manila Standard Today
