DOLE again pushes to end ‘endo’

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) likened the anti-‘endo ‘or end-of-contract campaign to basketball in the belief that a law against it could still be passed in the “last 2 minutes.”

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello has already signed the letter to ask President Rodrigo Duterte to re-certify the security of tenure bill as urgent.

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“As early as 2019, nag-certify na siya ng ‘endo bill’ sa Kongreso… Ang problema maraming mga labor group na nagpoprotesta, at ayaw daw nila yung ‘endo bill’ passed by Congress. On that basis, ‘vineto’ ng ating Pangulo,” said Bello.

Labor groups reacted because it was clear from the President’s veto message in 2019 that he did not sign the proposal. After all, he did not agree with the widespread ban on job contracting.

In the President’s view, some types of it are legal and beneficial to businesses and workers.

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For labor groups, this is another form of flattery due to the upcoming elections.

“Kung nu’ng una nabola nila ang manggagawa, sa tingin ko hindi na ulit, this is not in aid of legislation, in aid of election,” said Joshua Mata, secretary-general of SENTRO.

DOLE again pushes to end ‘endo’

Despite this, DOLE is confident that Duterte will still keep his promise to end ‘endo.’

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But the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) warns that businesses will collapse even more if this issue is inserted in the midst of the pandemic.

“Marami na ngang nagsara, maraming nag-iisip kung magbubukas pa sila, maraming nagbabawas, pag binigyan mo pa ng mga regulasyong ganyan, lalong kokonti ang trabaho, lalong mababawasan,” said ECOP president Sergio Ortiz Luis.

On the other hand, labor groups have promised to monitor the bill because if it does not have teeth, the problem of contractualization will not disappear.

Endo refers to a short-term employment practice in the Philippines. It is a form of contractualization that involves companies giving workers temporary employment that lasts them less than six months and then terminating their employment just short of being regularized to skirt on the fees that come with regularization.

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