By Connie Calipay/Philippine News Agency
LEGAZPI CITY – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) regional office here noted a significant increase of 265 percent in the number of contractual workers regularized in the first quarter of 2019.
A total of 3,599 workers gained regular employment in their companies here from January to March 2019, while only 1,356 workers were regularized during the same period last year.
“This is part of the 10-point agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte, to put to end prohibited contractual arrangements in the country. We encourage employers to submit their roster of employees and voluntarily regularize their workers following under such work arrangements in their respective establishments,” said lawyer Alvin M. Villamor, DOLE regional director, in an interview.
He noted that of the 3,599 workers, 3,472 were regularized voluntarily by their respective employers while the 127 others were regularized through inspections conducted by the Labor department.
“DOLE-Bicol recorded 140 establishments in all provinces of Bicol that regularized their workers from January to March 2019. At least 11 companies regularized their employees upon visit by the agency’s inspectors, while 129 establishments did it voluntarily.” he added.
Villamor added that as part of the advocacy to stop “endo” (end of contract) and promote regularization in the Bicol region, the department highlights the policy wherever there are labor management fora, wage consultation meetings and other labor-related activities.
“We want to stop the practice of illegal contractualization by means of promoting voluntary regularization of workers in Bicol as our developmental approach/ strategy that we employ in the region in response to government’s call to end contractualization,” he continued.
Apart from this, the Labor department conducts routine inspections, in which they evaluate private establishments’ compliance with labor laws and social legislation through a prescribed Inspection Checklist.
“We reach out to the employers to comply and work with us in the uplifting of the lives of the Bicolano workers,” Villamor said.
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