Labor group slams veto of Tenure bill, calls for protest

A LOCAL labor group has condemned President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to veto the Security of Tenure bill just a day before it was supposed to lapse into law.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Central Visayas chairman Jaime Paglinawan told SunStar Cebu this failed promise of Duterte would further stomp on contractual workers’ rights.

“That was his slogan during the elections. Our workers have been waiting for him to fulfill that promise, so his veto is a big failure,” he said.

With this, Paglinawan urged workers, whether regular or contractual, to take to the streets and voice out their grievances on this move by the President.

“There is a need for a workers’ union or association for contractual workers for them to defend their rights in the face of the Duterte administration’s mistake with the veto of the bill, which he had even categorized as urgent,” he said.

The veto, Paglinawan said, caused disappointment among workers as it had aimed to regularize contractual workers to give them more benefits aside from their salaries.

“Contractual workers would still feel miserable because most of them are not even receiving the minimum wage, which is low here,” he said.

As of August 2018, the minimum wage in Central Visayas was P376 for non-agriculture companies employing fewer than 10 workers, while it was P368 for the agriculture sector in Class A cities and municipalities.

Business leaders in Cebu welcomed the move but reiterated the call for the giving of incentives to employees that are more than their usual salary.

Duterte on Friday, July 26, rejected the Security of Tenure bill because of the “sweeping expansion of the definition of labor-only contracting.”

“I stand by my firm commitment to protect the workers’ right to security of tenure by eradicating all forms of abusive employment practices. Our goal, however, has always been to target the abuse, while leaving businesses free to engage in those practices beneficial to both management and the workforce,” the President said in his veto message.

The bill had a provision giving project and seasonal workers the same rights as regular employees.

The benefits would have included the payment of minimum wage and social protection benefits. (JOB)

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