Is regularization possible in the agricultural sector?

Contractual workers sign contracts ranging from 3 to 5 months of maximum tenure.

They are not given a copy of the document. However, contractual workers usually work
beyond the tenure in their contracts for as long as their services are needed in the farm.

No contracts are drawn to cover the duration of the extension. In fact, it is common for
workers to serve beyond the 6-month probationary period without a contract.

Moreover, it is common for a worker who has been in a farm for years to remain a
casual worker. When they are finally dismissed from work for the period, contractual
workers are not allowed to re-apply in the same farm on the next hiring period. If they
want to work, they have to apply in other farms. Thus, contractual worker’s employment
is a cycle of the 10 farms.

This system has been imposed to prevent contractual workers from being regularized
and becoming union members. Mostly affected by this system are the women who
make up the majority of the seasonal workers. Many of the female contractual workers
have accumulated years of working in a single farm but have not been regularized due
to this system of hiring (Villaseñor, 2000; Tuaño & Aldaba 2000).

‘Endo could hurt manufacturing

AN economist from the University of the Philippines (UP) warns that putting a full stop to
contractualization could hurt the resurgence of the country’s manufacturing sector.

“If ‘endo’ becomes a law, it could hurt the manufacturing sector even more,” said
Professor Emeritus Raul Fabella of the UP School of Economics, in a forum last
Wednesday.

“Endo,” or end of contract, refers to a contractualization scheme that offers short-term

temporary work arrangements.

Last May 1, President Duterte signed an executive order that reinforces a complete ban
on “labor-only” contracting or the so-called “endo” or end of contract, which Article 106
of the Labor Code also bans.

Fabella said a total ban on “endo” could dampen the growth of manufacturing, an
industry that generates employment and helps in the country’s poverty reduction.
“If we want to bring down poverty, we need to increase our manufacturing share,” said
Fabella, noting that the sector is facing internal pressures to recover—such as the issue
on contractualization.

“There is an attempt to favor unionized labor but in the process, it’s making them
marginalized,” he said.

The UP professor said banning contractualization could force companies to invest more
on labor costs, which may lead them to invest more in machines than in people. He said
investment will locate in businesses where labor cost can be passed on.

“There will be greater investment in equipment that save on labor, and in the long run, it
might just be that there is less employment than what is hoped for. It is an unintended
consequence that may hurt our people. This endo is not the way to help manufacturing,”
he said.

Contractual or project-based workers are most prevalent in construction, manufacturing,

and wholesale and retail trade.

According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), services was the main driver
of growth in the past decades, but manufacturing has slowly recovered and has been
contributing more substantially to the nation’s economic growth since 2013.

DTI earlier set a manufacturing sector growth target of between eight and 10 percent
annually until the end of the Duterte administration.

In Central Visayas, National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) 7 Director

Efren Carreon said manufacturing pushed the region’s growth in industry last year.

It grew by 5.5 percent and was the biggest sub-sector, accounting for some 24.5
percent of the output of the industry sector
DOLE hit for lack of baseline data on contractual workers
Sep 04, 2019 - 3:42 PM

'In the absence of any data, mahirap masabi na 504,000 [regularized workers] is an
accomplishment,' Bayan Muna Representative Ferdinand Gaite tells the labor
department

 Villanueva feels 'misled, used' after Duterte veto of anti-endo bill

Aug 05, 2019 - 5:51 PM

Despite the disappointment, Senator Joel Villanueva says other senators were not
comfortable with the plan to override the President's veto

[ANALYSIS] The paper tiger that was the anti-endo bill

Aug 05, 2019 - 11:12 AM

The Duterte government roared to end endo, but the final product of their collective
efforts sounded more like a meow

 No one to blame for vetoed anti-endo bill, says Malacañang

Aug 01, 2019 - 4:08 PM

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo also calls the presidential veto a 'good thing'
as it showed where President Duterte stood on the measure – even if the Chief
Executive himself had previously certified the very same bill as urgent

After Duterte veto, DOLE to submit proposal for new anti-endo bill
Jul 29, 2019 - 4:15 PM

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III says provisions on defining 'labor-only contracting'
among others will be part of a new proposal it will submit to the Legislative-Executive
Development Advisory Council by August 5