PSA report on easing of unemployment ‘illusory’; gov’t must work harder at creating jobs — Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, ALU

Labor groups described the results of the latest Labor Force Survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showing the easing of unemployment rate as “illusory.”

“Yes, unemployment rate fell between July and October 2020. But the 8.7 percent unemployment rate reported for the last quarter of 2020 is an illusion,” Nagkaisa Labor Coalition chairperson Atty. Sonny Matula said in a statement on Thursday.

“Employment remains low. Compared to the same quarter last year, the number of employed workers is lower by 2.7 million. The current employment level is also less than the number of employed workers in July by almost 1.5 million. That does not resemble recovery at all,” he added.

Except for self-employment and employers in family-owned business or farms, Matula said, the number of workers across classes remains lower than last year and even in July.

He added that wage and salary workers is short by 2.6 million compared to last year. 

Matula said the economy remains weak, there is not enough demand in the market and firms have not recovered at all. 

“If October and July labor indicators were any indication of the performance of the government’s current approach to the pandemic and the crisis, then it is as if economic managers were not working at all,” he said.

If there is anything the economic managers should learn from the survey, Matula said, it is this “the jobs crisis is real and it is staring at them in the face.”

Alan Tanjusay, spokesperson Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, called on the government to address the unemployment by generating jobs.

“Job generation has to come from the national and local government building infrastructure programs. The government must take the lead in providing more jobs through aggressive infrastructures spending which employs Filipinos,” he said.

Underemployment, Tanjusay said, must also be addressed by providing financial grant incentives and affordable loans to troubled businesses and financially distressed business-owners to help them cope through the pandemic health and economic crisis and adjust to the new normal. 

He said the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Agriculture should also do their part in addressing exorbitant and unlawful increases in prices of basic food commodities by going after hoarders and profiteers nationwide and make prices of food affordable. 

The Department of Labor and Employment, Tanjusay said, should help curb the rising underemployment by fully resuming the conduct of labor inspections nationwide to ensure that lawful wages, social protection benefits and quality, and provision of regular jobs are enforced. - by Leslie Ann Aquino

Solons, labor group: Security of Tenure Act in Bicam may not spell end of endo

Lawmakers and a labor group on Wednesday said the passage of the proposed Security of Tenure Act does not meet a presidential promise to end contractualization in the private sector.

Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano, as one of the principal authors of House Bill 6908 during the 17th Congress, said the new bill departs from the original intent of the old bill which was to eliminate “endo.”

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives endorsed for Senate approval House Bill 7036, or the proposed Security of Tenure Act, which seeks to strengthen the rights of workers in the private sector.

“The current bill, to my mind, will not address the problem on labor-only contracting. HB 6908 outlaws contractualization, while HB 7036 legalizes job contracting. This will complicate the issue due to the very thin line that separates labor contracting from job contracting,” said Paduano.

“While manifesting my strong opposition to the bill, let me clarify that on the issue of sub-contracting, it is my position not to totally ban the same. It promotes creation of jobs as well as supports the business of MSMEs [micro small and medium enterprises] for as long as the employees or the sub-contractors have security of tenure,” Paduano added.

According to the minority leader, the bill pales in comparison to the provisions of the Labor Code of the Philippines that clearly stipulate the prohibition of abusive workers’ contracts.

For her part, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, who voted against the bill, said House Bill 7036, or the current form of the Security of Tenure bill, actually makes contractualization a rule rather than an exception.

Brosas said this measure modifies the definition of regular employees in the Labor Code by deleting the parameter “usually necessary or desirable” and replacing it with a very steep precondition that the jobs being performed are “directly related and necessary.”

“This simple change in parameters actually has far-reaching consequences and dooms the hopes of millions of contractual workers for regularization,” said Brosas.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), for its part, said it cannot support or endorse House Bill 7036, saying the Congress missed a historic chance to correct the decades-long injustice to workers under endo.

“As currently worded, it legitimizes the highly exploitative end-of-contract or endo work arrangements by perpetuating the falsehood that it is the lack of capital and control, and not the business of labor supply, that constitutes labor-only contracting, which has long been a prohibited practice,” the TUCP said in a statement.

TUCP said it has serious concerns over the bill as workers have long fought for an end to contractualization, even after an initial Presidential veto in 2019, only to be presented now with a further watered-down version which will further betray their hopes.

“Let it be said at the outset, that the bill is not just a deeply flawed bill, it is fatally flawed and squandered the historic opportunity to correct the decades-long injustice to workers under endo,” it added.

It said the essence of the fraud blurring the employer-employee relationship for millions of contractual workers remains unaddressed.

“Our position in labor remains firm:  Regardless of whether or not the contractor has capital or investments in the form of office or equipment, if all that the contractor does is to recruit and deploy workers, that is labor-only contracting, and is therefore illegal,” it added.

The group said the bill specifically legitimizes the setting up of manpower cooperative as a contractor, and as a consequence will allow the perpetuation of contractualization and exploitation.

While the bill prohibits short-term contracts, the TUCP said it specifically added probationary employment as an allowable fixed-term or short-term contract.

“It is therefore conceivable, that contractors will use this device to move away from 5-5-5, or 5 month short-term contracts to defeat the regularization of workers, towards 6-6-6, or the sequential use of 6-month probationary contracts to legitimize the practice of never-ending probationary status of the worker,” it added.

TUCP appealed to the congressional bicameral conference committee to correct those flaws, which will further loosen and expand upon the loopholes and may lead to the proliferation and exploitation of millions of contractual workers.

The House Bill 7036 seeks to amend Presidential Decree 442 as amended, or the Labor Code of the Philippines.

Once passed into law, HB 7036 would prohibit “labor-only” contracting except: when the contractor or any intermediary does not have substantial capital or investment in the form of tools, equipment, machineries, and work premises, among others; has no control over the workers’ method and means of accomplishing their work and; the workers recruited and placed are performing activities which are directly related and necessary to the principal business of such employer.

The measure also introduces a new provision requiring all persons or entities doing business as job contractors to obtain a license from the Department of Labor and Employment, including compliance with the listing requirements for such licensing, determining the period of validity of the license, and stating the responsibility of the licensee to submit an annual report.

It also declares that violation of substantive or procedural due process is equivalent to illegal dismissal. In addition, the entitlements of an illegally dismissed employee are broadened by including the payment of social welfare contributions and benefits to said employee.

The bill amplifies and clarifies the classification of employees by: mandating regular employment as the general rule; and prohibiting fixed-term employment except in cases of overseas Filipino workers, workers on probation, relievers who are temporary replacements of absent regular employees whose engagements shall not exceed six months, project employees, and seasonal employees.

The bill also provides that the rights and benefits of relievers, project, and seasonal employees are at par with regular employees consistent with the principle that all workers must be treated alike both as to rights enjoyed and obligations assumed.

The measure provides administrative penalties of a fine and possible closure of business for those engaging in prohibited end-of-contract arrangements, and labor-only contracting.

At present, there is no imposable penalty for engaging in labor-only contracting except the simple declaration of ostensible employees of the contractor as employees of the principal employer. - By Jovee Marie de la Cruz

TUCP appeals to gov’t to provide P11,000 monthly wage subsidy to ‘new poor’ workers

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has appealed to the government to provide an P11,000 monthly wage subsidy to the “new poor” workers severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

In observance of Bonifacio Day Monday, the labor group sought financial aid for the millions of workers who lost their jobs as well as those forced into “no work, no pay” arrangement since the pandemic hit the country.

The monthly financial support is among the proposals seeking to improve workers’ welfare mentioned by the TUCP as the country commemorated the 157th birth anniversary of revolutionary hero Andres Bonifacio. Other proposals to the government include increased infrastructure spending and economic stimulus programs to save and create jobs.

“TUCP notes that while there are financial assistance programs for the poorest-of-the-poor and Overseas Filipino Workers, clearly the formal sector workers are not being sufficiently supported. Millions have totally lost their jobs, millions more are on ‘no work, no pay’ arrangements. Other millions are now into job-sharing arrangements,” TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza said in a statement.

“We therefore call on the government to meanwhile provide for a monthly wage subsidy or monthly financial assistance of P11,000. These workers are no longer the emerging middle class. These workers are now the new poor,” the TUCP said.

Mendoza made the proposal after noting that companies could no longer subsidize their workers since they are also in dire straits.

He said extending financial aid to the workers will help stimulate economic growth due to the boost in consumption of goods and services. “This way, we keep our people alive, and keep our economy afloat,” he said.

The labor organization also urged the government to create job opportunities by pursuing massive infrastructure projects. Government spending on projects such as the national railways system, regional agri-industrial hubs, construction of farm-to-market roads must be intensified, the TUCP added.

“Putting our people back to work through public construction is the first step out of joblessness,” Mendoza said.

The TUCP likewise asked the government to increase the financial stimulus package to better help the economy recover from the pandemic.

The group noticed that the government had a smaller budget allocation for economic recovery, compared to other countries that set aside more than 5 percent of their gross domestic products (GDPs) to ensure their survival.

TUCP Vice President Luis Corral said the government should listen to the warning of business leaders who claimed that relaxing quarantine restrictions won’t be enough to stimulate economic growth.

“To our economic managers we say: Enough of wishful thinking. Aggressive government spending now at this crucial juncture is the order of the day to save Filipino lives, to save and create jobs, and to build back better, faster and in a more systematic, programmatic way,” Corral said. - by Genalyn Kabiling

Protect app-based bike and motorcycle riders — ALU

The labor federation Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) on Thursday urged the government to provide protection to the growing two-wheel and four-wheel app-based riders who are playing a vital role in keeping the economy alive during this pandemic crisis.

Gerard Seno, National Executive Vice President of ALU, said motorcycle riders are emerging as one of the most vulnerable workers since the online selling apps came to thrive.

“We all saw and felt how these riders provided us convenience in our day to day lives, they are keeping the economy moving particularly during COVID19 quarantine lockdown yet they have no fixed wages and social protection benefits standards, and devoid of work safety and health standards for their well-being,” he said in a statement.

The group said motorcycle riders provide mobility service to app-based and online businesses and employers in transporting passengers, food and non-food deliveries amid constant exposure to air pollution, rain and extreme heat. 

This is aside from the lack of safety protection against the risk of coronavirus exposure in their daily work operation.

ALU TUCP said although it provided jobs to thousands of workers in the formal and informal economy who were displaced by the pandemic shutdown, the emerging gig workers are only regarded by mobile and online apps owners and operators as mere “business partners”, “freelancers” and/or “independent contractors” to evade labor responsibilities and obligation that an employer-employee relationship requires. 

“App-owners and operators, who should be the principal employers, also ignore the most important standard wages and social protection benefits and payment due these type of gig economy workers despite of a clear working existence of an employer-employee relationship between them,” said the group.

Seno said it is unfortunate that there is no law or policy that directly caters to welfare and interests of the growing motorcycle and four-wheel gig industry workers.

On Wednesday, some riders from FoodPanda Riders Association staged a motorcade rally in front of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Intramuros,Manila to ask the department to conduct an inspection on the disadvantagious enterprise’  new grading work payment scheme enforced recently by the company. - by Leslie Ann Aquino