DOLE looking to regularize 300K temps this year

FILE: Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III (Photo: Ilagan City, Isabela/Facebook)

MANILA — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is looking to regularize some 300,000 contractual workers in 2018.

With this, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III has directed regional offices to require all business establishments in the country to submit a list of their employees and the nature of their employment as well as program of regularization.

“I have instructed our Undersecretary for Labor Relations to order all our regional offices to require all business establishments throughout the country to submit a list of their employees and the nature of their employment. At the same time, they must submit a program of regularization,” he said in a statement Wednesday.

“Through our intensified labor inspections and voluntary regularization of collaborating establishments, we are expecting more workers to enjoy stable employment status. As President Duterte has committed, we are pursuing the campaign to stop this pernicious practice with more vigor,” the DOLE chief furthered.

At present, there are 541 Labor Laws Compliance Officers (LLCOs) who conduct assessment and inspection of around 937,554 small, medium and big business establishments in the country.

There were also 55 social partners comprised of 45 labor groups, five employers’ groups, and five other organizations who were trained on Labor Laws and Social Legislation.

Meanwhile, Bello said that President Rodrigo Duterte would issue “any time soon” an executive order (EO) that would broaden the prohibition of labor contracting in a wide range of industries and enterprises across the country.

“We are waiting for the meeting of the labor sector with the President anytime this week or next week. During that meeting, we are expecting the President to sign an Executive Order regarding the issue of contractualization,” he said.

Bello added that the EO, which was drafted by labor groups, was also approved by companies.

“The EO was concurred to by management groups. So, maganda ito,” he said.