Labor group says Duterte admin has not ended ‘555’ scheme

A labor group on Tuesday claimed that President Rodrigo Duterte has not fulfilled his promise of ending the "555" scheme, or the employers' practice of ending their workers' contracts on the fifth month of their employment.

"Hindi totoo, kung totoong in-address na ni Pangulong Duterte 'yung kanyang pangako sa endo 555, dapat on day 1 in-issue na niya 'yung direktibang 'yun na they will go after, they will conduct Tokhang on the non-compliance ng mga company," said Alan Tajusay, spokesperson of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), in a News To Go interview.

"Pero binigay 'yung order pagkatapos nung cancellation ng signing of endo, binigay 'yung order the day after our dialogue with the President was cancelled or postponed for some reason," he added.

Last week, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III made pronouncements that Duterte will no longer sign an executive order (EO) regarding contractualization.

Instead, Duterte will certify as a priority bill a pending proposed measure in the Senate on the security of tenure.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte did not sign the EO on contractualization due to its Section 2, which states that contractualization is not prohibited under the Labor Code of the Philippines.

Roque further said "endo" or "end of contract" is already banned by the law and that it allows the hiring of workers who already have regular status in a service contracting firm. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News