TUCP, ALU continue to campaign vs Endo
AN OFFICIAL from the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said that their campaign to abolish the practice of end of contract (Endo) is a call for fairness for all workers.
Luis C. Corral, vice president of TUCP and Associated Labor Unions (ALU), revealed to SunStar Davao on July 29, 2024, at the Bai Hotel Cebu, Mandaue City, that their initial push to end contractualization involved criminalizing the practice.
However, this was later watered down and reduced to a penalty of P 5 million to deter companies from practicing it.
Corral shared that he has had multiple conversations with former President Rodrigo R. Duterte about ending contractualization, as Duterte had promised to address this issue during his term as President of the Philippines.
However, Duterte informed Corral that Chinese investors might not understand why employees should be regular workers. Corral then explained that having regular employees would be less costly, as it would eliminate the need to replace workers every three months.
Corral added that during one of his conversations with Duterte, he mentioned that they could not entirely eliminate all forms of contractualization, as some might not understand the implications. He suggested that it should be addressed through a tripartite approach, involving the government, management, and employees in discussions.
He proposed that, for large-scale malls with about 60,000 employees, the longest-serving employees should be made regular, with an additional 10,000 employees also being regularized. He emphasized the need for a gradual implementation to avoid shock, giving businesses time to adjust their models and management practices to comply with the new law.
“May mga paraan na gawin ito’ng maayos para hindi sabihin na napaka-radical na pagbabago sa sistema dahil ang usapin dito ay simpleng katarungan, simple fairness lang ang gusto natin mangyari (There are ways to achieve this properly so that the change will not be perceived as too radical. The issue here is simple justice; we just want simple fairness),” he said.
"Endo," short for "end of contract," initially referred to the practice of using short-term contracts that fell just short of the six-month mark required for workers to become regular employees with benefits.
To recall, Duterte pledged during his 2018 presidential campaign to abolish the practice of "endo." He deemed it necessary to revise the Labor Code, although he later rejected a bill ratified in 2019 by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. RGP