Thursday, October 04, 2007 Termination notice regulation meets with approval
THE proposed ordinance disallowing the publication of termination notices that tend to degrade employees was welcomed by concerned government agencies and companies during Wednesday's committee hearing in Davao City.
Representatives from the city's businesses and companies, the Commission of Human Rights, and the Department of Labor and Employment were present Wednesday to tackle the ordinance that aims to remove the stigma created by public notices.
Although there were a lot of clarifications at first, Councilor Edgar Ibuyan, chair of the City Council committee on labor and employment opportunities--and the proponent of the ordinance, said the employers eventually understood his objective.
"We do not aim to question the prerogative of the companies or violate the freedom of the press but we are asking for some changes in the choice of words used in the public notices. Using the words WARN and BEWARE is too harsh and degrading, as if the person has committed a capital crime or is criminally prone," Ibuyan said.
He added that the ordinance also seeks to regulate the notices by asking the companies to specify the cause of the separation from the company as to prevent speculation on the part of the public.
The lack of specific details may cause considerable embarrassment and moral damage on the part of the terminated employee.
"Isulat lang pud unta na nila sa notices kung voluntary resignation ba or retrenched ba tapos i-cite pud unsa nga rason arun nga kung mag-apply ang tao sa ubang company, dili sira iyang reputation (The notice should state whether the employee voluntarily resigned or was retrenched and then also cite the reason for the termination so that if that person tries to find a job in other companies, his reputation is not tarnished)," Ibuyan said.
Ibuyan, however, said he was happy about the feedback on his proposal.
"Wala silay pagbabag pero kinahanglan pa ug amendments arun nga specific pud ang provisions sa ordinance (They don't have objections but amendments have to be done to make the provisions of the ordinance more specific)," Ibuyan said. (GLP)
