The Department of Labor and Employment will strictly enforce the new Department Order No. 174 that bans labor-only contracting and other form of illegal contractual arrangements, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Wednesday said.
Bello said he will deputize labor group leaders to inspect establishments which would violate the new DO, saying the participation of labor groups would achieve the goal of ending illegal contractual arrangements.
“The DO will not succeed if the labor groups will not participate in implementing the order. That’s why I am deputizing labor groups to inspect various establishments for their compliance with the new department order,” Bello said.
He said he has authorized Undersecretary Joel Maglunsod to supervise a team composed of labor compliance officers and representatives from labor and employers that will conduct inspections of more than 90,000 establishments to assure their compliance with labor standards and existing labor laws.
“The inspection team will directly report to me and kapag napatunayang hindi sumusunod, tayo [DoLE] mismo ang pupunta at sasabihin natin na i-regular mo sila,” Bello said.
The Labor secretary also addressed criticisms from some labor groups, following his issuance last week of DO No. 174 stressing that only Congress, not the DoLE, can completely ban contractualization.
“We have come up with this DO to address your [labor groups] immediate concerns but the complete prohibition of all forms of contractualization is beyond our authority. That matter is a function of the legislation, the Congress,” Bello explained.
The order reaffirms the Constitutional and statutory right to security of tenure for workers; applies to all parties in an arrangement where employer-employee relationship exists; and absolutely prohibits labor-only contracting, and specifies other illicit forms of contractual employment arrangements.
It also allows only permissible contracting and subcontracting as defined; reenforces the rights of workers to labor standards, self-organization, collective bargaining and security of tenure; and requires mandatory registration of contractors and subcontractors and provides clear procedures for cancellation of registration.
