MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday sought for a compromise on labor contractualization or “endo” stressing how difficult it was to force employers to abolish the practice completely.
“I don’t think that I can really give them all kasi hindi naman natin mapilit ‘yung mga kapitalista na… kung walang pera o ayaw nila o tamad (because we cannot force capitalists…if they don’t have money or if they’re lazy),” Duterte said during the inauguration of the newest shooting range of ARMSCOR Shooting Center, Incorporated (ASCI) in Davao City.
“Don’t make it hard for them to run the business the way they like it because that’s their money. So something of a compromise must be… maybe acceptable to everybody,” he added.
Duterte also pointed out that there were only a number of companies in the country that absorb human resources.
“But in other countries, be it Hong Kong, America, you work for a certain guy and if he does not like the quality that you produce, you get out, you get paid, separated and that’s it,” Duterte said.
“Ganun lang sana (It could have been like that) but because there are few businesses to absorb the human resource, kaya (that’s why) they want some radical changes,” he added.
Last Feb. 7, Duterte also sought for more time to sign an Executive Order (EO) to abolish labor endo after meeting with labor groups in Malacañang.
“I was made to understand that he asked for more time to issue the Executive Order on endo,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said in a Palace briefing. “That’s all that I was informed by head of protocol.”
Roque said the President needed more time to review the documents.
“He is studying the matter more thoroughly,” he added.
Labor groups earlier called for an end to labor contractualization through the issuance of an EO that would give them security of tenure, self-organization, collective bargaining and peaceful concerted activities.
During their meeting, Duterte assured that the government will do its part to forwarding labor rights. (Azer Parrocha/PNA)
