The Endo or “end of contract” policy of the government has a noble objective — the regularization of many workers and the termination of illegal contractual employment schemes.
Its legal backbone is Article 281 of the Philippine Labor Code which clearly provides, “Probationary employment shall not exceed six months from the date the employee started working, unless it is covered by an apprenticeship agreement stipulating a longer period. The services of an employee who has been engaged on a probationary basis may be terminated for a just cause or when he fails to qualify as a regular employee in accordance with reasonable standards made known by the employer to the employee at the time of his engagement. An employee who is allowed to work after a probationary period shall be considered a regular employee.”
According to some segments of society, businesses stand to gain when EnDo has been eliminated. For one, there will no longer be as much resources devoted to training new sets of employees. These reserves can be averted to something else. By providing benefits (as what workers will get when they finally become regular employees), businesses can be guaranteed of a more productive workforce.
It is common knowledge that an individual who has job security will be more committed to success than someone who is anxious of the day the contract will end. Similarly, incentives (which are present when an employee is already made a permanent worker) can also be utilized to spur productivity and create motivation, bringing forth a more dynamic labor force.
While countless enterprises will be disrupted by the elimination of EnDo in the country’s labor scenario, a worker will see the policy as heaven-sent. Since he/she is already a regular employee after her/his first six months, he/she can snap out from being poorly paid and being withheld from benefits to that of someone receiving a “decent” salary and with all the benefits.
Additionally, the general public’s purchasing power will also increase, because workers will now be qualified and are entitled to receive incentives. Also, they will now be able to get loans and credit from banks since they now have a stable source of income.
To end EnDo is like what I said, a noble intention, however, there is a necessity of ensuring that whatever changes done to the existing Labor Code, will not damage businesses, create panic among potential investors, and most important of all, will not send our unemployment rate soaring to high heavens.
What could happen
The Philippine job market will be less competitive.
EnDo is mainly a loophole abused by employers looking for cheap labor. This is one reason why the Philippines is such an attractive job market. As per observation, a good percentage of the Philippine workforce subscribes to contract labor, which will be adversely affected when the EnDo policy is scrapped. When the country falls out of favor in terms of its labor force, the economy will take a hit and this will strike right back at the businesses that have lost the ability for short-term hiring.
More unemployed, unemployable
Banning the practice of ‘contractualization’ can throw millions of workers out of job. Because businesses cannot hire them contractually, this will also cause a scarcity for companies as they will lose the option to hire workers for the short term. As we say in Cebuano, “sagdi lang ug contractual, basta naay trabaho, mas maayo na lang ni kay sa wala gyud.”
Interrupted business processes
There’s no denying that contractualization is a means for companies to get people when they need it – and to dispose of them when they see fit. This has become an “accepted” reality for the most part that some companies have built their business processes around it. With the possible disruption of business processes, investors become wary and will turn to other locations for the continuation of their business interests.
One question
I am not saying that contractual employees remain as they are forever. I am not also saying that I don’t like Job Order workers to have a chance to become permanent employees. All I am saying is that, if we are to change the status quo, there has to be safety nets for all the contractual employees who will be dislodged from their current jobs. If after the termination of the EnDo, all contractual workers are still employed, their families will still have food on the table, they can still send their children to school, then by all means, eliminate the EnDo now. However, if there are no alternatives ready, if there are no options laid down for all the millions of dislocated workers, what use will this policy have for our city and for our country?
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Author’s email: wea_129@yahoo.com
