MANILA – The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) slammed President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that more than 300,000 contractual workers have been regularized during his term, saying that the number is “grossly exaggerated.”
During his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 23, Duterte said that more than 300,000 workers have been regularized since he took office in 2016.
“Our campaign against endo has resulted in the regularization of more than 300,000 workers as of early this month,” he said.
However, ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said that upon checking Department of Labor and Employment records, only 202,000 contractualized workers have been absorbed voluntarily by different establishments nationwide as regular workers.
Even then, the 202,000 is still “questionable,” Tanjusay added in a statement, “because it has to be verified if they were regular to the middlemen manpower agencies or to the principal employer and principal business owner that utilize their service.”
Another 119,000 “endo” workers have yet to be regularized because the principal employers are contesting the regularization orders of DOLE regional offices. (GMA News)
