Labor groups, Hontiveros urge gov’t to pass ‘strongest’ anti-endo bill

A coalition of labor groups and Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday urged the government to pass “the strongest version of the anti-endo bill after President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed a “watered-down” measure last month.

The new bill Hontiveros will file is the strongest possible measure against endo, said Daniel Edralin, who chairs the Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO).

“We are glad that another bill that will effectively halt many of the decades-long problems of workers will be filed, especially after a watered-down version Security of Tenure (SOT) bill passed by both Houses of the previous Congress was vetoed by Duterte,” SENTRO said in a separate statement.

On July 26, Duterte vetoed the SOT bill. Some business groups claimed that the passage of the bill may result in job losses.

SENTRO, Partido Manggagawa (PM), Federation of Free Workers (FFW), the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) and the National Federation of Labor Unions (NAFLU) fear that the 18th Congress will pass a weaker version of the bill to avoid another veto by the President.

“We are worried that Congress might pass a weak version of the law to satisfy the President and appease big employer groups at the expense of the Filipino workers,” the groups said.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia voiced his reservations regarding the vetoed version and emphasized the need to strike a balance between the concerns of workers and businesses.

Sentro debunked the claim that the bill will result in additional costs, saying the employers will actually be able to get rid of the 10% to 15% transaction costs required by labor-only contractors with no direct role in production or services.

The anti-endo bill to be filed by Hontiveros prohibits fixed-term employment—unlike the vetoed version.

The senator noted that public opinion is important in shaping and influencing public policy.

“We will touch base with new constituencies and social groups outside of the labor force to gather for the bill and make it politically costly for the President not to fulfill his promise to the workers,” she said.

The labor groups hope that Duterte may find the “political and moral courage” to side with the Filipino workers.

“Tama na ang veto da SOT Bill,” they said. —VDS, GMA News