The Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development conducted a public hearing in aid of legislation last August 9, 2018 regarding Senate Resolution 810 entitled “Resolution Directing the Committee on Labor and Employment and Human Resources Development and Other Appropriate Senate Committees to Conduct an Inquiry In Aid of Legislation, on the Issues Arising From the Regularization of Employees With a View to Address Gaps Therein Through Legislation or Policy Review”.
The Senate Resolution stemmed from the current issue on regularization of workers, including the dispersals in Nutri-Asia, protests of workers in PLDT, Jollibee Foods Corporation, Uni-Park Sardines, Monde Nissin, and Middleby Phils. Corp., among others.
The Senate’s purpose of the inquiry in aid of legislation is to address the gaps in the law on enforcement and compliance that facilitates discord and violence similar to situations of the PLDT and Nutri-Asia workers.
In the course of the hearing, workers from Nutri-Asia and PLDT, and CEO of Nutri-Asia and Senior Vice President of PLDT all were able to air their conflicting sides.
Nutri-Asia and PLDT maintained that the workers involved in these situations were workers of their contractors and not their own workers. Also, it was found out that the workers were not terminated from work by their employers, but could not report for work due to a cease and desist order from the DOLE. The order by the DOLE is due to the fact that the companies were allegedly engaged in the practice of labor-only contracting.
As for ECOP, it was manifested that ECOP is against the practice of labor-only contracting, and that full compliance with the law is top priority. Moreover, ECOP acknowledged that some workers should be regularized workers. On the other hand, it is ECOP’s position that not all workers should be regular workers. ECOP added that job contracting is needed by the business sector, and that the business industry will die if the practice of job contracting will be totally abolished.
In the end, the Committee on Labor were enlightened by all the facts they have gathered, and believed that there should be further hearings with the view of addressing all possible gaps in the law as earlier mentioned.