MAY 8, 2016

NR # 4194

House leader pushes measures designed to address labor

contractualization
At least five bills pending in the House of Representatives aim to plug the
loopholes in the 1974 Labor Code of the Philippines and address the gridlock between
workers and employers on the issue of endo or labor contractualization, a House leader
said.
Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles (1st District, Davao City), chairman of the House
Committee on Labor and Employment, said the measures are House Bills 5416, 5415,
5806, 6397 and 4659, which he authored.
These bills seek to institutionalize the multiple approach adopted by Department of
Labor and Employment in addressing the issue of endo or contractualization, which is
synonymous to circumvention of labor laws on labor standards and occupational safety
and health standards, security of tenure, and right to self-organization and collective
bargaining Nograles said.
Nograles said DOLE has undertaken reforms to address the issue of
contractualization. Department Order 18-A prescribes stricter rules and regulations on
contracting and subcontracting, and provides all contractors employees, the rights and
labor standards benefits including the right to security of tenure, right to self-organization
and collective bargaining, Nograles said.
Another reform by the DOLE is the Department Order No. 131-2013 or Labor
Law Compliance System that ensures enforcement of all labor laws and regulations and
addresses issues on contractualization, security of tenure and other labor laws violations
through a combined regulatory and developmental approach, Nograles added.
According to Nograles, there are identified gaps in the Labor Code that need to be
refined to capture the challenges of globalizing production chains including endo and to
ensure workers protection.
These gaps include Articles 106-109, which allows contracting and subcontracting
arrangement and prohibits labor-only contracting; Articles 279, 280 and 281 on the right
to security of tenure, regular employment, probationary; and Articles 282 and 283 or the
grounds on termination of employment and Articles 128 and 129 on visitorial and
enforcement power of the Secretary of Labor and Employment.
The bills also seek to amend Book IV on occupational health and safety standards
and penalties for non-compliance; and coverage to self-organization particularly Article
243 to remove the notion that those without definite employer-employee relationship, the

probationary, and employees other than those with regular status, are excluded from
the union, and only allowed to form labor organizations for mutual aid and protection,
and not for purposes of collective bargaining.
House Bill 5415, or An Act Specifying the Requirements of Legitimate Contracting
or Subcontracting, amends Articles 106 to 109 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, as
amended.
House Bill 5416 or An Act Defining the Causes of Termination of Employment of
Workers is an amendatory measure to Articles 282 and 283 of PD442, as amended.
House Bill 5806 or Employment Relations Bill reiterates the right to security of
tenure by requiring that all employees be regularized except those under probationary
employment.
Completing the package of amendments is the proposed Labor Laws Compliance
System (HB6433) or the amendments to Articles 128 to 129 of the Labor Code, and House
Bill 6397, the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) bill, which imposes penalties for
everyday of non-correction of OSH violations including criminalizing deaths with
employer negligence due to non-observance of OSH standards, Nograles said. (30) jc