LABOR Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III directed the 17 Regional Offices to cancel or suspend the certificates of registration under Department Order 18-A of contractors and subcontractors practicing illegitimate contracting and subcontracting arrangements, including “endo.”
“All Regional Offices are directed to cancel and suspend the Certificates of Registration of establishments which are violating the law of security of tenure. This is consistent with the Department’s effort to eliminate illegitimate forms of contractualization,” said Bello.
He added that the DoLE Regional Offices shall assess the contractors and subcontractors in their respective regions to determine which establishments are practicing labor only contracting.
“After the Regional Office conducted the proper proceedings, and they found out which establishments in their area are practicing ‘endo’ or other forms of illegitimate contractualization, I am ordering them to suspend or cancel the Certificate of Registration of these business establishments,” said Bello.
The 17 Regional Offices are also tasked to submit the list of contractors and subcontractors whose Certificate of Registration were suspended or canceled.
Meanwhile, Bello also said that the Department already sent a letter to the big establishments in priority industries to comply with the law of security of tenure.
“We already sent a letter to big companies and corporation telling them to comply, otherwise we will also cancel their Certificate of Registration,” said Bello.
He added that the said companies are given 15 days to voluntary comply with general labor standards, including the regularization of their contractual workers to avoid the suspension or cancellation of their Certificate of Registration.
Bello said government efforts to end illegitimate forms of contractualization is gaining ground as 10,532 workers were voluntary regularized by 195 employers after consultations and assessment by the DoLE Regional Offices nationwide.
“In just 100 days, 10,532 workers were regularized by their employers. This means that we are on track in our objective to reduce illegitimate contractualization practices and endo by 50 percent by the end of 2016 and abolishing it by 2017,” said Bello.
Bello, citing a report from OIC Director Alvin Curada of the Bureau of Working Conditions, said that the DoLE has adopted two tracks in eliminating illegitimate contractualization, including labor-only contracting and “endo.”
In the first track, the DoLE Regional Offices conduct a series of consultations and meetings to encourage employers to voluntarily regularize workers who are under “endo” and labor-only contracting arrangements.
For the second track, Labor Laws Compliance Officers inspect establishments, principals, and contractors which are practicing “endo” and labor-only contracting arrangements. Those found to be engaged in labor-only are subjected to mandatory conferences to assist them in their compliance with labor standards.
According to Director Curada’s reports, there were 8,001 workers who were regularized after the DoLE Regional Offices conducted 149 consultations which were attended by 10, 215 representatives from 7,607 establishments/principals/contractors nationwide.
Of the said consultations/meetings, 129 were held in priority industries where, as a result 5,733 workers in bilateral arrangements were regularized by 139 establishments. There were also 20 consultations/meetings with region-based contractors and subcontractors which resulted in 2,268 workers in trilateral arrangement being regularized by 56 principals.
In his report, OIC Director Curada also said that 2,531 workers were regularized after assessments/re-assessments of establishments and principals which were hiring workers through contracting and subcontracting arrangements in priority industries.
Of the said figures, 1,889 contractual workers were regularized after assessments/reassessments of principals engaged in contracting and subcontracting arrangements in priority industries.
A total of 642 workers were regularized after assessments/reassessments of establishments engaged in hiring workers through bilateral arrangement in priority industries
Bello also reiterated that labor-only contracting is an arrangement where the contractor or subcontractor merely recruits, supplies or places workers to perform a job, work or service for a principal and the worker placed performs work activities directly related to the main business of the principal, is illegal.
He added that the Department is aware that illegitimate contractualization or “endo” practices exist in both bilateral and trilateral employment relationships.