MANILA -- A labor group on Tuesday lauded President Rodrigo Duterte for certifying as urgent the Security of Tenure Bill, which is pending at the Senate.
“By certifying the Security of Tenure or End Endo Act of 2018 as urgent, President Duterte gave the millions of ‘endo’ workers and their families a sense of hope amid all the rising inflation and political noise,” Michael Mendoza, national president of the Associated Labor Unions - Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), said in a statement.
“We thought all the while Digong has forgotten his promise to end ‘endo’ to contractual workers who have been suffering in deep poverty because of this precarious short-term employment. May pag-asa pa pala. (There is still hope.) We sincerely hope Mr. Duterte enact the SOT bill into law early next year,” Mendoza said.
In his letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto dated last Sept. 21, Duterte said, “I hereby certify to the necessity of the immediate enactment of Senate Bill 1826 entitled: An Act Strengthening Workers Right to Security of Tenure Amending for the Purposes Articles 106, 107, 108, and 109 of Book III and Articles 294 (279) 295, (280), 296, 281 and 297 (282) of Book VI of Presidential Decree No. 442, Otherwise Known as The Labor Code of the Philippines, as Amended, in order to strengthen security of tenure by prohibiting the prevalent practices of contractualization and labor-only contracting, which continue to immerse our workers in a quagmire of poverty and underemployment.”
ALU-TUCP national executive vice president Gerard Seno noted that the news about the President’s certification of the bill is a big boost to workers’ productivity in the workplace.
“The news about his certification of the SOT bill is definitely a positive vibe to workers who have been lingering in low morale due to rising cost of living, long lines in MRT and LRT trains, floods, strenuous traffic congestion and falling wages. The moment the SOT bill is enacted into law, there is now a chance for contractual workers to be included in the country’s growing economic growth,” Seno said.
On the other hand, TUCP Partylist Rep. Raymond Mendoza noted that it would be a good Christmas gift if the measure would be approved by Congress.
"President Duterte said he will never renege on his campaign promise to end contractualization. True to his word, he certified the Security of Tenure bill. We pray that it will be passed by Congress consistent with the Presidential promise instead of being watered down by the corporate vested interests which are overrepresented in Congress. Workers need an uplifting Christmas gift in the midst of their current struggles with the spiraling cost of living and genuine hope for a far better 2019," he said.
The measure was approved on third reading by the House of the Representatives early this year. (PR)
