GENERAL SANTOS CITY—The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Region 12 has found at least 60 commercial establishments here and other parts of the region to have been allegedly implementing illegal labor contractualization practices.
Albert Gutib, DOLE-Region12 acting regional director, said on Monday the concerned establishments were subjected to further assessments for possible violations of various labor laws, among them the “endo” or end-of-contract and labor-only contracting employment.
He said they uncovered the supposed violators in the ongoing inspections and assessment conducted by their labor laws compliance officers.
The official said the assessment has so far covered some 97 commercial establishments in this city, Koronadal City and Sarangani Province.
“Our personnel have been inspecting local commercial establishments one by one to determine the potential violators and properly enforce our labor laws and standards,” he said in a radio interview.
Aside from the 60 establishments that were found employing illegal contratualization arrangements, he said at least 43 have violated provisions of the General Labor Standards and the Occupational Health and Safety Standards.
Gutib said they have given the concerned establishments 20 days to comply with their noted violations.
He said they were also subjected to 30-day mandatory conferences to assist them in their compliance with labor standards. PNA
PNA“Should they fail to act on the violations, the regional office will issue compliance orders for the regularization of the affected workers,” he said.
Gutib said they will issue cease and desist orders to contractors and sub-contractors that implement labor-only contracting arrangements.
He said that further violations could lead to the cancellation of their certificates of registration.
DOLE had launched a crackdown against establishments and companies that are practising “endo” and labor-only contracting arrangements on orders from President Duterte.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello issued Department Order No. 162 in July, directing DOLE regional offices to stop accepting applications from new third-party service providers.
Labor-only contracting is an arrangement “where the contractor or subcontractor merely recruits, supplies or places workers to perform a job, work or service for a principal.”
DOLE is in the process of drafting a new policy that will replace Department Order No. 18-A, series of 2011, that was deemed to have legitimized labor-only contracting.