MANILA (UCAN): “We are extremely disappointed he [Phlippine president, Rodrigo Duterte] has reneged on his promise to end contractualisation. [It seems] ending it is not one of his priorities anymore,” Bishop Kolin Bagaforo, national director of Caritas Philippines, told Radio Veritas on July 12.
Bishop Bagaforo recalled that during his election campaign, Duterte had promised to end contractualisation—the practice of allowing businesses to hire employees on six-month contracts to avoid having to give them benefits normally afforded to regular workers.
Philippine labour law says contractual workers are not entitled to privileges such as paid leave and bonuses if they are not regular employees.
NAGKAISA, the country’s largest labour coalition, likewise urged Duterte to address major labour concerns instead of focusing on his political future after his term ends next year.
“We are calling the public, in the name of all labour unions and federations, to put an end to the kingship of President Duterte in 2022. The call to end the contract policy is now the same as calling for the end of Duterte’s rule. Enough is enough,” NAGKAISA spokesperson Sonny Matula said in a press statement on July 12.
‘This unfair policy has worsened the country’s labour situation evidenced by an all-time high unemployment at 7.7 per cent or 3.73 million Filipino workers without jobs’
Bishop Bagaforo
Bishop Bagaforo noted that contractualisation caused suffering not only to workers but also to their families severely affected by the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus [SARS-CoV-2] pandemic
“This unfair policy has worsened the country’s labour situation evidenced by an all-time high unemployment at 7.7 per cent or 3.73 million Filipino workers without jobs,” the bishop added.
Matula said, “Labour groups believe that Duterte has no right to seek public office again because of his dismal performance as president seen by his abuse of workers’ rights and very poor pandemic response.”
He added, “We are convinced Duterte has committed many crimes. We are tired of Duterte’s ‘kill, kill, kill’ language and cursing. We are not slaves or subjects of a notorious criminal king. We deserve respect as humans and as workers from our leaders.”
“[Contractualisation] is anti-poor. One cannot claim he or she is a good Catholic if he or she exploits the dignity of the human person through labor. Labour has dignity because man has dignity,” Quezon City resident, Anabelle Prodigalidad remarked, adding that the call to be good employers is the same as God’s call to be good Christians.
“There is no dichotomy. If we want to be good Christians, then we must be good employers and employees,” she said.
