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.
‘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.
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