TUCP rejects plans to write new version of Security of Tenure bill
Published Jul 31, 2019 07:41 pm
By Leslie Ann Aquino
Workers group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines on Wednesday rejected the plan to come out with a new version of the vetoed Security of Tenure bill which the group believes would be further watered down to tailor-fit the whims and caprices of business and employers.
TUCP President Raymond Mendoza
(TUCP Party-List / MANILA BULLETIN) "The vetoed version was already the watered down version. What new version are the President's men talking about? Are they talking about the version that will give employers an even freer hand to expand the scope of contractualization even more? For employers to determine at will who will be contractual? TUCP President Raymond Mendoza said in a statement. He said TUCP sees nothing wrong or amiss in the definition of Labor-only contracting in the vetoed law. "If anything, the definition closes the loopholes that have been exploited by the employers and labor contractors to exploit our workers in what is modern form of slave labor," Mendoza said. The group also lamented how the veto was done without consulting workers. "We have said the President was deliberately misled and badly advised. First thing to be done is to do what the President should have done before deciding on the veto. He should have consulted with workers first," Mendoza said. "And now, workers are supposed to rush back to a negotiating table tilted against them?" he asked. "The workers are telling the TUCP not to give in or to surrender more ground. TUCP is reasonable and always ready to talk with our social partners and with government. But not along the terms laid forth in the veto letter. Those terms will further open the floodgates to the flood of contractual-status work," said Mendoza. Earlier, the labor department said it is coming up with a new version of the security of tenure bill to be submitted to both houses of Congress following the veto of President Rodrigo Duterte of the congress-approved measure last week. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said DOLE will review the vetoed bill and will come up with its own ‘balanced’ version that will provide security of tenure to workers without hurting the viability of businesses and investments in the country. The labor chief also said that DOLE will study the definition of the labor-only contracting and the extent of the management’s prerogative in defining certain activities to be outsourced.
TUCP President Raymond Mendoza(TUCP Party-List / MANILA BULLETIN) "The vetoed version was already the watered down version. What new version are the President's men talking about? Are they talking about the version that will give employers an even freer hand to expand the scope of contractualization even more? For employers to determine at will who will be contractual? TUCP President Raymond Mendoza said in a statement. He said TUCP sees nothing wrong or amiss in the definition of Labor-only contracting in the vetoed law. "If anything, the definition closes the loopholes that have been exploited by the employers and labor contractors to exploit our workers in what is modern form of slave labor," Mendoza said. The group also lamented how the veto was done without consulting workers. "We have said the President was deliberately misled and badly advised. First thing to be done is to do what the President should have done before deciding on the veto. He should have consulted with workers first," Mendoza said. "And now, workers are supposed to rush back to a negotiating table tilted against them?" he asked. "The workers are telling the TUCP not to give in or to surrender more ground. TUCP is reasonable and always ready to talk with our social partners and with government. But not along the terms laid forth in the veto letter. Those terms will further open the floodgates to the flood of contractual-status work," said Mendoza. Earlier, the labor department said it is coming up with a new version of the security of tenure bill to be submitted to both houses of Congress following the veto of President Rodrigo Duterte of the congress-approved measure last week. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said DOLE will review the vetoed bill and will come up with its own ‘balanced’ version that will provide security of tenure to workers without hurting the viability of businesses and investments in the country. The labor chief also said that DOLE will study the definition of the labor-only contracting and the extent of the management’s prerogative in defining certain activities to be outsourced.