Showdown seen over ‘End of Endo’ at bicam

ALU-TUCP Spokesman Alan Tanjusay (Photo from DWIZ)

LABOR leaders on Thursday said they will be ready to counter possible attempts from government economic managers and business groups to derail the passage of the Security of Tenure (SOT) bill as it goes through the bicameral conference next week.

In a statement, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Vice President Louie Corral said it is wary of a possible intervention from the Department of Finance (DOF) to derail the SOT.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III had already rejected the House version of the bill before it was passed on third and final reading with an overwhelming vote of support from congressmen in 2017, Corral recalled.

“We still fear that DOF Secretary Dominguez will move to kill the worker’s bill as it goes to the Bicameral Conference Committee next week,” Corral said.

He said similar opposition may also be raised by the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) and the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce.

Corral said they are now preparing to quash such attempts with sound data and mass mobilization during the bicameral conference.

“Our research team will be doing quick-response table studies and position papers to counter the false and misleading legal and economic arguments being advanced by DOF,
Ecop and the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce,” Corral said.

He said other members of labor coalition Nagkaisa will also continue their lobby during the last phase of the passage of the SOT bill.

This was confirmed by Nagkaisa Spokesman and Partido Manggagawa Chairman Renato Magtubo.

“We will fight it out in the bicam,” Magtubo told the BusinessMirror in an SMS.

No compromise

TUCP said they are perplexed by the opposition of business groups on the SOT bill since it will not outlaw the contractual scheme, but only restrict its practice.

This, TUCP Spokesman Alan Tanjusay said, was already a big compromise for labor leaders, who were initially demanding for the outright abolition of contractualization.

“We have already taken a crucial step backward from [an] absolute, total ban of ‘Endo’ position to permissive and allowable job contracting because we recognize employers and business flexibility,” Tanjusay told the BusinessMirror in an SMS.

“We cannot and we will not take more step backward. We will stand our ground. No more compromise,” he added.

The SOT bill has been dubbed “End of Endo” bill because it was seen as a way of curbing the widespread practice of hiring workers under short-term contracts (hence, Endo for “end of contract”) which expire before they qualify for permanent employment under existing law.

Labor groups are optimistic the SOT bill, which was certified as urgent by President Duterte, will be finally enacted into law after the Senate passed its own version of the legislation on Wednesday.

This has been the farthest the bill has been in being made into a law since it was first proposed two decades ago.

“This is a major victory for workers today…We should maintain the momentum and work double time so that the Bicameral Conference Committee could submit a version of the bill that could be ratified at once by both chambers of Congress,” Nagkaisa Chairman and Federation of Free Workers President Sonny Matula said in a statement.

Based on the estimates of labor groups, around 15 million workers in contractual work arrangements will benefit from the passage of the SOT bill. - By Samuel P. Medenilla

Iboto #166 TUCP Party-list

Huwag kalimutan, #166 sa balota ng halalan Mayo 13, 2019, #166 TUCP Party-list!

I-shade ang bilog sa tabi ng #166 para sa party-list. Isa lang ang pwede iboto para dito.

Iboto #166 TUCP Party-list
Itaas ang Sahod! Wakasan ang Endo!

#166tucppartylist

Sa Mayo 13, 2019, #166 TUCP Party-list!

Makataong Sahod | Regular na Trabaho | Disenteng Pamumuhay


Who are we?

• We represent workers. - The TUCP Party-List was established to represent the interest of labor and workers in Congress through the party list system of representation. Recognizing the fact that the plight of the Filipino workers continue to worsen, we are committed to challenge the biases of elite democracy as we strive to represent 40 million Filipino workers, their families and communities. Popular campaigns to create a critical mass to pass pro-labor laws continue to be our main thrust while we seek to assist in unifying the labor movement through coalitions such as the NAGKAISA

• We fight for labor rights. - With over 700,000 members nationwide, the we focused our legislative agenda in ensuring universal observance of the basic labor rights and so-called core labor standards which includes:
1) The effective abolition of child labor;
2) The elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation;
3) The elimination of all forms of compulsory labor;
4) Upholding respect for freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; and
5) Respect for the right of workers to undertake concerted action (boycott and strike)

• We advocate peace in Mindanao. - Since the 14th Congress, we have been advocating legislation for peace in Mindanao. We also have been pushing the creation of decent work for both the young out-of-school Muslims and Christians and the promotion of investments and jobs by using the peace dividend as a developmental launch pad. We are also pressing for lower electricity rates in order to attract investors in Mindanao.

• We push for allied progressive concerns. - We are also working to push allied progressive concerns such as:
(1) To promote economic equity;
(2) To ensure universal healthcare;
(3) To defend women’s rights;
(4) To defend indigenous people’s rights;
(5) To develop universal education;
(6) To continue agrarian reform;
(7) To balance rural and urban development;
(8) To conserve natural resources along the lines of sustainable development;
(9) To enhance local autonomy;
(10) To enact electoral reform; and
(11) To ensure freedom of information

For more information, visit our website www.tucplaborcenter
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TUCP backs 12 Senate bets who will further workers’ agenda

TUCP representative, Lawyer Raymond Democrito Mendoza (center) announces the senator candidates that they group will be supporting in the election. | Rosalie O. Abatayo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has announced on Tuesday, May 7, their endorsement of 12 senatorial candidates whom they believe can further their cause for the welfare of the labor force.

TUCP President and Party Representative Lawyer Raymond Democrito Mendoza named former Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares and Federation of Free Workers National President Sonny Matula as their “fellow worker” bets.

Reelectionist Senators Grace Poe, Cynthia Villar, Nancy Binay, JV Ejercito and Bam Aquino are also among TUCP’s list of senatoriables along with Taguig City Representative Pia Cayetano.

TUCP also backs the candidacy of administration bets former Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, former police general and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos and former Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chief Francis Tolentino.

Mendoza said that they believed that candidates that they were supporting would be able to help them pass measures in the Senate to address the concerns of the workforce.

“After consultations with TUCP leaders and the heads of our affiliates, these are the senatorial candidates that our members believe and feel can help sponsor, support and pass legislation which will address the concerns of workers and their families through legislative policy-making,” Mendoza said.

Among the recent measures that TUCP has initiated are the P710 across-the-board daily wage hike in Metro Manila and P386-wage hike in Central Visayas.

Mendoza said they would endorse the 12 senatorial candidates to their affiliate labor federations with unions in manufacturing, agriculture, and services sector nationwide and to overseas workers. -
DBS