DOLE order stopping ‘endo’ fulfills Duterte’s campaign promise—Palace

Malacañang on Friday said the order issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) banning ‘labor only’ contracting — or the so-called ‘endo’ — is a fulfillment of the campaign promise of President Rodrigo Duterte. (Photo: King Rodriguez/ PCOO)

MANILA—Malacañang on Friday said the order issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) banning ‘labor only’ contracting — or the so-called ‘endo’ — is a fulfillment of the campaign promise of President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Department Order 174 regulating the contracting and subcontracting of employees “is a major step in upholding and protecting the labor rights of our great Filipino workers.”

The Palace official lauded everybody who contributed to the realization of DO 174.

“We commend all concerned parties for the tireless efforts they poured in to make this a reality. The fruits of labor must be enjoyed justly and equitably, while business investments must be encouraged to grow and prosper so they can share with workers the reward for their toil,” Abella said.

He also urged all parties to ensure the proper implementation of the order.

“The Duterte administration is working very hard to promote more humane conditions and fair and just treatment of workers in the work place. We guarantee the proper implementation of this department order by our labor officials and expect the full cooperation from the employers,” Abella said.

Putting an end to job contractualization was one of the major campaign promise of President Duterte.

On Thursday, the labor department issued DO 174 Thursday after months of consultations with both labor and management.

A DOLE statement said DO 174 supersedes DO 18-A, which “was oftentimes circumvented to allow various forms of contractual arrangements and end-of-contract schemes.”

The order totally bans labor-only contracting.

It also prohibits the following labor practices:

When the principal farms out work to a “cabo,” a person or group under the guise of labor organization or cooperative supplies workers to an employer;

Contracting out of job or work through an in-house agency; contracting out of job or work through an in-house cooperative which merely supplies workers to the principal;

Contracting out of a job or work by reason of a strike or lockout whether actual or imminent; contracting out of a job or work being performed by union members and such will interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights to self-organization;

Requiring the contractor’s/subcontractor’s employees to perform functions which are currently being performed by the regular employees of the principal;

Requiring the contractor’s/subcontractor’s employees to sign, as a precondition to employment or continued employment, an antedated resignation letter; a blank payroll; a waiver of labor standards including minimum wages and social or welfare benefits; or a quitclaim releasing the principal or contractor from liability as to payment of future claims; or require the employee to become member of a cooperative;

Repeated hiring by the contractor/subcontractor of employees under an employment contract of short duration;

Requiring employees under a contracting/subcontracting arrangement to sign a contract fixing the period of employment to a term shorter than the term of the service agreement, unless the contract is divisible into phases for which substantially different skills are required and this is made known to the employee at the time of engagement; and

Such other practices, schemes or employment arrangements designed to circumvent the right of workers to security of tenure.