Push Admin

Employers to comply with 'difficult' DOLE order on 'endo'

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

MANILA - Businesses will find it difficult to follow the government&#x27;s new order on &quot;endo&quot; but they will comply with it, according to the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP).The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has announced that it will start implementing on April 3 Department Order 174 which seeks to regulate labor-only-contractualization. According to DOLE, DO 174 will end the practice of &quot;endo&quot; wherein employment contracts are deliberately terminated before the sixth month to avoid paying benefits that are due to regular workers.ECOP acting president Sergio Ortiz-Luis said contractualization remains legal under the Labor Code, but employers will follow to the DOLE order.&quot;So long as it is within the purview of the law, we will try to live with it,&quot; Ortiz-Luis said in an interview with ANC&#x27;s &#x27;Top Story&#x27;.He, however, reiterated his earlier warning that many small businesses will be forced to lay off workers or hold off on hiring new employees because of DO 174. Ortiz said the DOLE order was partly to blame for the higher unemployment rate earlier this year.DOLE Undersecretary Dominador Say meanwhile said that the department is devising a safety net for workers who may lose their jobs.&quot;Last year, we asked for a budget so we could catch people who would be falling with this net,&quot; Say said. Say said workers who will be laid off can avail of DOLE assistance and be retrained for jobs which are more in demand. &quot;For example we have the construction industry, which until now is suffering in acute supply,&quot; he said. Say also insisted that all employers have to follow minimum labor standards.&quot;Regardless of what business you are in, you have to comply with basic minimum standards in labor,&quot; Say said.Say said that the DO 174 will be beneficial to contractual employees who will soon be able to enjoy the benefits of regular workers. He said that under the new department order, manpower agencies will be mandated to give contractual employees a new assignment within three months upon the end of their work assignment. Contractuals will also be entitled to receive half a month&#x27;s salary per month while waiting for new work assignment, and separation pay if the agency is unable to assign them new work after three months.

Businesses will find it difficult to follow the government's new order on "endo" but they will comply with it, according to the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP).

Businesses will find it difficult to follow the government's new order on "endo" but they will comply with it, according to the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP).