Protection of workers during business overhauls pushed

The country's largest organization of labor federations and unions will continue to fight for the protection of workers and the preservation of their jobs during mergers, consolidations or transfer of businesses.

Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza of the Trade Union Congress Party (TUCP) Party-List said, any merger, consolidation or transfer of business should not diminish the wages, benefits and other employment terms and conditions of the affected employees.

Mendoza filed House Bill 1557, which seeks to oblige the acquiring or transferee employers to continue the employment of the transferor employer's employees.

"An employment that has been zealously earned, industriously worked for, valued and treasured should be secured. Protection should extend to remunerations and benefits, with all the enhancements merited due to years of arduous service," Mendoza said.

Mendoza said the TUCP has consistently advocated, not only for job generation, but more importantly, for job protection and preservation.

"Competition among businesses has become tremendously intense that the dictum bigger is better has obtained zealous advocates the world over, including our country's multinational companies," Mendoza said.

"This is most especially true in this interesting time and age of globalization. Because of the need to become bigger and more competitive, the incidence of mergers, consolidations and acquisitions, including the sale or transfer of all or substantial assets, business enterprise has become very rampant," Mendoza said.

The problem is, Mendoza lamented, "some employers device these schemes - a corporate mechanism, not really for the purpose of obtaining competitiveness but with the end in view of violating workers' security of tenure, among other rights of employees."

"This plethora of previously unfamiliar corporate occurrences creates a trail of novel issues, such as the rights of employees and liabilities of the employers. This is when the issues of the security of tenure, diminution of wages and benefits and other employment terms and conditions come to fore," Mendoza said.

Mendoza has been strongly batting for his proposed measure saying it is the State's policy to extend utmost protection to the security of tenure, wages, benefits and other employment terms and conditions of employees in cases of merger or consolidation of the business of their employer with other entities.

The protection shall extend in case an employer acquires, transfers, sells, assigns, conveys or leases all, or substantially all assets, business enterprise or going concern to another employer or business entity.

Under the measure, the transferee employer shall have the obligation to continue the employment of the transferor employer's employees, without loss of seniority rights and other privileges.

In case of differences in the employment levels, wage and benefit scales, and other employment terms or conditions, the superior or most favorable to the employees shall prevail.

The transferor employer shall be liable to money claims pertaining to the period when the transferee employer was still the employer.

The measure also aims to limit the ground for termination of employment to redundancy and shall be liable for separation pay or other benefits as prescribed under the Labor Code.

"Plus it sets a presumption that if the transferee employer or new company becomes a bigger entity than the prior one, there can be no declaration of redundancy as the business can absorb the employee," Mendoza added.

The measure also requires the new company to give an employee declared to be redundant in a certain position first priority for employment in the newly created position, if qualified.

Finally, the measure sets out rules on recognition of existing bargaining agents and agreements, protecting not only the unions, but also the benefits worked hard for by them as embodied in the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA). - Jazmin S. Camero, Media Relations Service-PRIB

Give VMMC juridical entity to perpetuate efficient service to veterans

Veterans' welfare is one of the many legislative issues that demonstrated the collective non-partisan action of the House of Representatives on matters crucial to public interest, Rep. Herminia Roman today declared.

Roman, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and Welfare, is citing, among others, the House-approved HB 6754 or "An Act to give juridical personality to the present Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC), appropriating funds therefor, and for other purposes."

"HB 6754, like other measures promoting the welfare of our veterans and their dependents, would ensure continued free medical care for the veterans," she said, noting that the principal author of the original bill (HB 6502) is Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Other principal authors of the House-passed substitute bill are: Reps. Ma. Amelita Villarosa, Hermilando Mandanas, Anthony Rolando Golez, Jr., Lani Mercado-Revilla, Leopoldo Bataoil, and Raymond Democrito Mendoza.

While transforming the VMMC into a corporate body with juridical personality, HB 6502 seeks to strengthen the hospital's financial operations, reinforces its existence and perpetuation as a first-rate and prestigious medical institution, the authors said.

While reiterating the VMMC's commitment to serve the Filipino war veterans, the measure provides greater flexibility in its operations with autonomy in the exercise of its jurisdiction.

Among other salient provisions, HB 6754 provides that the VMMC, a body corporate, acting through its Board of Trustees, shall have all powers pertaining to a juridical person, and is therefore authorized, among others, to: 1) Acquire and hold in any manner property of whatever nature or description; 2) Enter into contracts; 3) Solicit and receive donations, endowments and funds in the form of contributions, whether in cash or in kind, from both the public and private sectors;

4) Open such accounts in banks and other financial institutions, and to disburse such funds or invest the same as the Board may direct to accomplish or advance the purposes or interest of the VMMC; 5) Invite foreign health specialists and other similar experts in the various medical fields to train the personnel, trainees or residents of the VMMC;

6) Send VMMC personnel to research institutes, medical institutes or universities for advanced training or observation and to attend international or regional conventions, conferences, congresses, seminars as the Board may deem necessary. 7) enter into such agreements and arrangements with medical or other institutions, domestic or foreign as may be deemed desirable by the Board;

8) Adopt a set of by-laws, rules and regulations not inconsistent with law and the provision hereof to govern the administration and operation of the affairs of the VMMC; 9) Establish branches for the VMMC in other provinces or cities of the Philippines as may be deemed necessary for greater service coverage to veterans and their dependents that are living in almost all parts of the country; and 10) Perform all such other acts and things as are or may be necessary or incidental for the accomplishment of the purposes and objectives of the VMMC.

The VMMC Board of Trustees shall be composed of the following: the Secretary of National Defense as Chairperson; Medical Director of the VMMC as Vice Chairperson; Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Defense and Security; Chairperson of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and Welfare; Secretary of Health; Administrator of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office; chairman of the Philippine Veterans Banks; President of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines and three appointive members who are veterans and who have exerted conspicuous efforts towards the promotion of veterans' welfare and well-being.

The appointive members shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines and shall serve for a term of three years. - Dionisio P. Tubianosa, Media Relations Service

Solons want labor subjects be included in college curriculum

Lawmakers are pushing for the inclusion of labor subjects into the college social science curriculum.

"College students should equip themselves with knowledge about labor rights, works welfare and benefits, core labor standards, labor laws and regulations," Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza (Party-list, TUCP) said.

"These students will eventually be a part of the labor force and therefore should be coached the most important principles pertaining to the role of labor in the self-realization of a human being," Mendoza said.

House Bill 3205, authored principally by Mendoza, vice chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Employment, mandates the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to integrate labor subjects into the social science curriculum in the tertiary.

Mendoza said CHED should develop a course on labor education to be integrated in the tertiary education curriculum to inculcate among college students a sense of awareness on the rights, privileges as well as the responsibilities to society of workers.

Mendoza, who also chairs the House Committee on Poverty Alleviation, said there are about 2.6 million college students in the country.

The number of students enrolled in private universities and colleges are more than 1.6 million, while more than 820,000 are from state universities and colleges, he said.

He said local universities and colleges have 96,000 while the rest come from other higher education institutions of government.

Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara (Lone District, Aurora), another author of the bill, said labor issues would give students knowledge of the labor situation in the country and the current employment problem.

"The labor education should also include topics on national and global labor situation, labor market concerns, labor issues, overseas work and related problems," said Angara, chairman of the House Committee on Higher Education. - Jazmin S. Camero, Media Relations Service-PRIB

People's participation in development plans pushed

Lawmakers today stressed that people's participation should be institutionalized in the formulation of local and national government development plans.

The House of Representatives has endorsed for Senate approval HB 3264, which seeks to strengthen the participation of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the formulation of national, regional, and local development plans.

"The proposed statute will ensure the participation of civil society organizations in national building," the authors said as they lauded Rep. Benjamin Asilo, Chairman of the Committee on People's Participation, for defending the measure on the floor until its final passage and endorsement to the Senate.

HB 3264, principally authored by Reps. Joseph Victor Ejercito (Lone District, San Juan City), Winston Castelo (2nd District, Quezon City), Linabelle Ruth Villarica (4th District, Bulacan), and Eduardo Gullas (1st District, Cebu), has been approved on third reading by the House and is now pending final action by the Senate.

"The measure strengthens the role of CSOs in pursuit of their collective interests and aspirations and ensure their effective and reasonable participation at all levels of social, political, and economic decision-making," Ejercito and Castelo said.

The bill mandates all national government agencies involved in planning and the regional and local development councils to take measures to ensure the participation of CSOs in the formulation of growth programs.

Likewise, it provides for an accreditation procedure for CSOs that wish to participate in the policy formulations in all levels of governance.

The measure compels the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the barangay secretary of each Barangay Development Council, and the coordinator of each Provincial/City/Municipal Development council to issue a notice of call for written submission of CSOs' proposals and/or comments on proposed development plans.

It also requires all submissions to be (a) properly received by the NEDA or the concerned development council; (b) entered into a database for the purpose; and (c) considered in the formulation of the development plan.

"One of the many vital provisions mandates that all deliberations on development plans be open to the public," the authors stressed.

Also, it requires the NEDA and the development council to present proposed development plans to all concerned stakeholders prior to their submission for approval.

There is also the provision tasking the DILG and the NEDA to monitor and evaluate the accreditation and participation mechanisms of CSOs, and further provides for an incentive system through the DILG's Performance Challenge Fund for LGUs Program.

The penal provisions of the bill imposes a fine of P20,000.00 and a suspension of six (6) months to one (1) year on any public official or employee who shall (a) fail to publish the notice of public call for submissions, (b) refuse to acknowledge receipt of any submission made by CSOs, and (c) fail to invite CSOs to the deliberations on development plans.

Other co-authors include Reps. Cinchona Cruz-Gonzales (1st District, Capiz), Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza (TUCP, Party-list), Edwin L. Olivarez (1st District, Parañaque City), Cresente C. Paez (COOP NATCCO, Party-list), Godofredo V. Arquiza (Senior Citizens, Party-list), Rafael V. Mariano (Anakpawis, Party-list), Catalina Leonen-Pizarro (ABS, Party-list), Reena Concepcion G. Obillo (Una ang Pamilya, Party-list) and Sharon S. Garin (AAMBIS-OWA, Party-list). - Dionisio P. Tubianosa, Media Relations Service