Rody urged to reject Dole order on ‘endo’

MANILA, Philippines - Reiterating that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)’s Department Order 174 recently signed by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III does not conform with President Duterte’s commitment to end contractualization, labor coalition Nagkaisa yesterday urged the Chief Executive to issue an executive order overturning the DO to keep true to his promise.

Nagkaisa spokesman Renato Magtubo said they hope to meet with Duterte to ask him to reject the DO because it does not provide his promised relief for the labor sector.

“Our sense is that given the chance to explain our opposition to the signed DO, the President may welcome the suggestion from us to reject the DO and instead issue an EO to… do away with agency hiring,” he noted.

Last week, Bello earned the ire of various workers’ groups after he signed the DO, which they claimed does not really end the contracting and sub-contracting schemes at the workplace. 

The Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines, which is seeking clarification on the DO from DOLE itself, warned that the directive would lead to massive retrenchment.

Magtubo added they have not ruled out the possibility of filing a case with the Supreme Court to question the DO, but to meet with Duterte is their “preferred course of action” for now.

Bello yesterday assured the labor sector that the DOLE will strictly enforce the new order which imposes a total ban on labor-only contracting and other forms of unlawful contractual arrangements.

“I am deputizing you (labor groups) to inspect various establishments for their compliance with the new department order,” Bello told workers picketing at the DOLE head office in Intramuros, Manila late last week.

The labor chief had authorized Labor Undersecretary Joel Maglunsod to supervise a team composed of labor compliance officers and representatives from labor and employers that will conduct inspections of more than 90,000 establishments to assure their compliance with labor standards and existing labor laws.