“It’s been more than fi fty days since Pres. Duterte assumed offi ce and yet not a single capitalist or corporation has complied with the president’s order that they end contractualization,” said Bukluran ng Mangggawang Pilipino (BMP) president Leody de Guzman.
The BMP, SUPER Federation, Metro East Labor Federation (MELF), Union Presidents Against Contractualization (UPAC) and Solidarity of Workers Against Contractualization (SWAC) issued a joint statement urging Duterte to “show more resolve in fulfi lling his campaign promise.”
“The president’s viciousness and aggressiveness towards ‘drug lords’ contrasts markedly with his apparent timidity and diffi dence towards capitalists exploiting their workers,” noted Luke Espiritu, SUPER president.
On the other hand, SWAC head Franco Villanueva said “employers seem to be openly defying the president and fl outing his authority,” even as he asked Duterte to “fi ght back to demonstrate that he cares about the welfare of workers.”
The labor leaders also scored the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) for its opposition to the anti-contractualization campaign and its alleged “eff orts to mislead the public by redefi ning contractualization and reducing it to the practice of endo, or terminating workers after fi ve months of employment.”
They said “the government should end not just endo but all forms of contractualization, including ‘casual,’ ‘project-based,’ and ‘sub-contracting’ forms of employment.”
In line with their demand, the labor groups launched a “Corporate Shame Campaign” against firms and other organizations practicing or benefiting from contractualization.
The groups also launched a campaign to gather one million signatures demanding that contractualization be made a criminal off ense. The signature drive also seeks to amend the Labor Code, as well as other government issuances that are allegedly anti-labor.
