Philippines: Rodrigo Duterte’s government’s new sub-contracting regulations leave both unions and employers unhappy

Signed on 16 March 2017 by Secretary of State Silvestre Bello III this Department Order (DO) looks to combat excessive recourse to ‘contracting’ and its most negative effects; the use of successive five-month contracts to avoid labor legislation, via agencies and sub-contractors. Unions remain unhappy by this ‘intermediate’ position since a complete end to sub-contracting had been one of Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign promises.
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‘Endo’: contracting in the Philippines. For more than twenty-five years ‘contracting’ has been normal practice in the country’s industrial and commercial businesses. Critics hold that worker representation has been compromised as a result with wages being pushed lower and labor rights comprised. In short the ‘Endo’ practice means hiring a worker (or workers) for successive periods, with each one not exceeding five months, short of the six-month trial period after which time employers are requir

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