Contractualization is a globally acceptable labor trend says PALSCON
As an Economics graduate it is my
belief that the labor force is the primary social and economic force that all
countries need for national development.We need workers for the economy to run
well but what happens when some politicians who boasts that they have the
workers’ rights in their mind is misled about some labor practices in our
country? Take for example the practice of contractualization and casualization
employed by many companies in our country. End of contract or “endo” has taken
a bad rap from workers who felt that they have no security of tenure in their
work. But is contractualization a bad labor practice?
The Philippine Association of
Legitimate Service Contractors, Inc. (PALSCON) emphasized that
contractualization is a generally acceptable labor practice and is a worldwide
trend during the recent GMM by ECOP and PALSCON on “Understanding The
Real Issues on Contractualization and Casualization”
PALSCON’s new president, Rhoda
Caliwara, pointed out that in the
Philippines alone, contractual work employed around 600,000 workers in 2014,
citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. In 2015, the total went
up to 850,000 workers and if seasonality, probationary, casual and apprenticeship
employment are to be included this year, the number of workers that will
benefit from contractualization is projected to hit more than 1 million
workers.
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| PALSCON’s new president, Rhoda Caliwara |
PALSCON’s immediate past president, Butch Guerrero, said
that according to studies done by the Boston Consulting Group,“Contractualization or Service Contracting
has helped 61 million workers gain access to the labor market worldwide through
the employment and recruitment activities of such companies.” The study was commissioned by the International
Confederation of Private Employment Services (CIETT), of which PALSCON is an
active member.
Service contracting, according to Caliwara, is seen to
provide decent jobs to a large part of the Filipino workforce in 2016. It is
also a worldwide trend that lets businesses adapt to the cyclical and also
downward and upward trends in the market today. “These trends are increasing due to the fast-paced
business trends being influenced by mobility through technology. Removing or
banning contractualization would mean taking away productive jobs from one
million Filipinos and would set the economy back,”Caliwara explained.
Banning contractualization would also increase unemployment
rate to unimaginable levels that is likewise counterproductive to the economy. “Removing contractualization would put the
Philippines at a disadvantage vis-à-vis its ASEAN neighbors in this age of
globalization and would mean capital flight of the country to neighbors such as
Thailand and Vietnam,” retorts
Guerrero.
Contrary to common perception that contractualization
deprives workers of government-mandated benefits, Caliwara reiterates that
PALSCON and its members do not abuse Filipino workers’ rights. “Our members extend benefits such as SSS,
PhilHealth, PAG-Ibig and the mandated 13th month pay. We also follow the
required minimum wage set by the National Wages and Productivity Council of the
Department of Labor and Employment and our workers also get necessary leaves
and rest days as mandated by the Philippine Labor Code.”
PALSCON, Caliwara said, also works hand-in-hand with the
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and other concerned groups to help
protect the Philippine workforce. In 2011, the DOLE issued Department Order
18-A in 2011 which outlawed the so-called “5-5-5
system” where workers are forced to sign short, 5-month employment
contracts and thus are not qualified to receive the benefits due them. “Our workers are also at co-terminus with our
contract with our principals in order to give them longer employability under
the contractual agreement,” Caliwara adds.
The association also set higher standards in terms of
capitalization, registration fees, and safety standards to its members and
workers. With the issuance of DO 18-A and as a result of the higher standards,
it helped decrease the number of registered service contractors from 22,000 in
2010 down to almost 5,000 in 2015. PALSCON, Guerrero said, is helping weed out
fly-by-night contractors who do not have regular offices, are unregistered and
do not remit the proper government-mandated dues to its workers.
“We assure the public and others
who are skeptical at the issue of contractualization that PALSCON will not
tolerate such companies who abuse the Filipino workforce. This stand is at one
with other trade unions in the country and is non-negotiable,” declares Caliwara.
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| Tin Gonzaga's photo |
One of the speakers during that day Atty. Josephus
B. Jimenez, FPM, AVA shared these compelling reasons why legitimate contracting
should not be abolished.
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