Employers can now extend the “floating status” of their workers by another six months under a new issuance from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
The coalition of the country’s biggest labor groups, however, immediately rejected the new policy and bared plans to question the legality of the said DOLE issuance before the Supreme Court (SC).
Last Friday, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III signed Department Order (DO) 215, Series of 2020, which amended Section 12 of Rule 1 of the Implementing Book 6 of the Labor Code on the Employment Relationship.
Once it takes effect 15 days after being published, it will allow employers to extend the suspension of employment, or floating status, of their workers for another six months “in case of declaration of war, pandemic, and similar national emergencies.”
Minimizing displacement
Prior to DO 215, employers were only allowed to maintain the floating status of their workers by a maximum of six months, after which the company will be required to either rehire, or to retrench the concerned employees.
Bello said he opted to extend the period of floating status to prevent further mass displacement during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since the government implemented community quarantine last March to control the spread of Covid-19, many companies opted to “float” their workers since their operations either stopped, or slowed down during that period.
Based on its latest data, DOLE said there are currently 2.4 million workers under floating status. These include those who were required to take forced leaves, or affected by temporary closure.
Bello explained the employers of many of these workers may opt to just implement a retrenchment program sans DO 215.
Illegal policy
Partido Manggagawa (PM) national chairman and Nagkaisa labor coalition spokesman Renato Magtubo said the policy is illegal.
“Extension of the floating status of workers beyond the six months maximum through a DO is illegal as it is tantamount to executive legislation. The water cannot rise above its source,” Magtubo said.
The labor leader also said the issuance also “opens workers to employer abuse.”
“The labor coalition Nagkaisa labor groups is coordinating for a campaign for the repeal of the blatantly ‘pro-employer’ DO 215 and to file a legal challenge at the Supreme Court,” Magtubo said.
Employment limbo
HE also criticized the supposed safeguards included the DO 215, which aims to prevent employers from exploiting the floating status of their workers.
These include requiring employers to discuss the extension with their workers before implementation; concerned employers to report to DOLE’s regional offices the extension of 10 days before its effectivity; and for the workers under floating status to be given priority in the rehiring.
Magtubo said the policy fails to take into account the feeling of desperation of the floating workers, who are not sure if they will be rehired, or eventually retrenched in the coming months. During the said period, he said, the concerned workers will likely not get any salary.
Ideally, he said workers should already be rehired by companies after six months, but in some cases, he noted, it is actually better for the worker to be terminated since it will entitle them to a separation pay.
“They can use a capital to look for another income opportunity or to look for a new job,” Magtubo said.