Security of Tenure Bill Vetoed by the President
The House Bill no.4444,otherwise known as the Security of Tenure Bill was vetoed by President Rodrigo Duterte.The President’s opposition was focused on the definition of labor-only contracting and that labor officials were instructed to revisit the provision to balance the interest of workers and businessmen, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) spokesperson said.
The Security of Tenure Bill aims to totally prohibit contractualization and all its forms including all fixed-term employment. There is a need to pass a law to strengthen security of tenure and to end abusive practices of contractualization.
Contractualization refers to the practice of hiring employees who would render their services for a specific amount of time, usually, for a few months only. The system has been practiced and used by many companies, including large corporations. These enterprises often utilize this arrangement in order to maintain their revenues up.
During his campaign as a presidential candidate, the president promised to end labor-only contracting known as Endo (End of Contract). However, many were surprised when he himself vetoed the bill.
Labor groups hit the President’s veto of a bill that seeks to end illegal forms of contractual arrangements for workers and that Endo and contractual work is a modern form of slavery and is a poverty trap. Should the bill be passed, all workers will then be granted with Regular Employment status, which means, they are not easily susceptible to being terminated nor laid off, thus, ensuring stability to their work.
For employers, it is a decision that is not only good for the economy but for workers as well. They claim that the sweeping definition of labor-only contracting destroys the balance and will place the capital and the management at an impossibly difficult predicament that may affect the Filipino workers in the long run.
Senator Joel Villanueva who authored the bill refiled it right away.
Let’s talk with aimtalk teachers:
- Does contractualization system practiced in your country? What’s your opinion about it?
- What do you think are the merits and demerits of contractual or labor-only system?
- What factors do you consider when looking for a job?examples: salary,location,environment,stability
Vocabulary
susceptible(adj):likely to suffer from a particular illness or be affected by a particular problem.
sweeping(adj):making an important difference to something
predicament(n):a difficult or unpleasant situation in which you do not know what to do, or in which you have to make a difficult choice
