President Rodrigo Duterte has vetoed the ‘End Endo Bill’, which sought to prohibit labor-only contracting (also called ‘endo’ for ‘end of contract’), wherein workers are hired for only up to five months in order to avoid permanent tenure after six months of work. This hurts many workers as they are left without jobs after a few months and without benefits. Duterte had previously promised to end short-term hiring, so his veto of the bill has come as a shock to many.
“I stand by my firm commitment to protect the workers’ right to security of tenure by eradicating all forms of abusive employment practices,” he says. “Our goal, however, has always been to target the abuse, while leaving business free to engage in those practices beneficial to both management and workforce.”
As to why he vetoed the ‘End Endo Bill’, Duterte said that the bill unduly broadens the scope and definition of endo. “While labor-only contracting must be prohibited, legitimate job-contracting should be allowed, provided that the contractor is well capitalized,” he says.
He also says that businesses should be allowed to determine whether they should outsource certain activities or not, especially if this will help them become more efficient at work.
“I believe the sweeping expansion of the definition of labor-only contracting destroys the delicate balance and will place capital and management at an impossibly difficult predicament with adverse consequences to the Filipino workers in the long-term,” he adds.
