ECOP welcomes veto of Security of Tenure bill

The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) on Friday cheered President Rodrigo Duterte's veto of the Security of Tenure bill.

"We're very glad that Malacañang has finally made up its mind that the Security of Tenure bill will only lead to loss of jobs and investments," ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis told GMA News Online.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo earlier confirmed that the President rejected the bill meant to eliminate subcontracting of labor and limit job contracting to licensed and specialized services. 

The employers group earlier said that the measure might discourage investors and eventually result in job losses. 

Now that the bill is vetoed, Ortiz-Luis said ECOP will police its own ranks to "ensure that endo is ended in the entire country."

"We, the ECOP, will see to it that in our own ranks the practice of endo is ended," he said.

"The only problem is implementation because there are already enough laws against illegal labor practices," he added.

Senate Bill No. 1826 was adopted by the House of Representatives as an amendment to House Bill 6908 in May.

The measure prohibits subcontracting out the same work contracted out by the employer.

It also seeks to limit job contracting to licensed and specialized services and to strengthen security of tenure of employees in the private sector by classifying workers into regular and probationary employees, treating project and seasonal employees as regular employees.

Socieoeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia expressed concern on the bill, saying it needs to strike a balance between the concerns of workers and businesses.

Ending unjust contractualization was a campaign promise of Duterte when he ran for the presidency in 2016. — RSJ, GMA News