The new version of the Security of Tenure (SOT) bill has split labor groups into those which accused it of perpetuating contractualization and those who consider it as a means to restrict the controversial employment scheme.
In a statement on Thursday, labor coalition Nagkaisa said it backs House Bill (HB) 7036, or the SOT bill, since it institutionalizes the prohibition of labor-only contracting (LOC).
Nagkaisa Chairman and Federation of Free Workers (FFW) President Sonny Matula said the bill also disallows fixed-term employment except for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and employees on probation, or relievers who are temporary replacements of absent regular employees.
It also imposes a P30,000 penalty for each victim employee by businesses engaging in end-of-contract arrangements and labor-contracting.
“While still small, [it] remains [to be] an improvement over current law where a negligible P1,000 to P10,000 fine may be imposed regardless of the number of victimized employees,” Matula said.
The labor leader, however, noted that the bill is just a “small step in fighting contractualization.”
Nagkaisa proposed to lawmakers to improve the bill such as making the regularization order from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) immediately executory.
Legitimizing third-party contractors for his part, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) President Luke Espiritu rejected the bill for being “rushed” and an inferior version of the previous SOT bill, Senate Bill 1826.
“SB 1826, which was vetoed by President Duterte last year, stipulated that all employees, except those under probationary, seasonal, or project employment, shall be deemed regular,” Espiritu said.
“Adding relievers as a legal type of bilateral fixed-term employment is prone to abuse and trickery. It provides a gap through which employers can sustain the practice of endo simply by fabricating the status of new hires as replacements,” he added.
He also criticized how HB 7036 recognized third party contractors by regulating them.
Trade Union Congress of Philippine (TUCP) spokesman Alan Tanjusay echoed the said observation of Espiritu, stating the bill does “not free ordinary, contractualized workers from the bondage of labor slavery contractualization scheme.”
“In fact, this version is creating more ways to legitimize and perpetuate endo and contractualization schemes. That’s why we don’t support nor endorse it,” Tanjusay said.
HB 7036 was passed in third and final reading at the House of Representatives.
Duterte earlier said the passage of a law ending widespread illegal contractualization is one of his priority legislative agenda.