MANILA – Some lawmakers appealed to Congress to increase the budget of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for hiring more labor inspectors, saying that workers’ concern on security of tenure have yet to be addressed.
“Kailangan pang paghusayan ng DOLE ang labor regulation program nito particular ang labor laws compliance. Dapat tiyakin ang pag-hire ng sapat na labor inspectors sa kalagayang talamak ang violations ng kompanya sa kalagayan ng manggagawa natin,” GABRIELA party-list representative Arlene Brosas said during the plenary deliberation of DOLE’s proposed 2019 budget at the House of Representatives.
ANAKPAWIS party-list representative Ariel Casilao said, “I would like to appeal to the few remaining colleagues of mine to help us in reinstating or augmenting specific programs of DOLE. It will be favorable to Filipino workers. Suffering from contractualization will be lessened at least.”
DOLE has a proposed 2019 budget of P8.55 billion under the National Expenditure Program.
During the deliberations, Brosas also questioned a retail giant’s compliance with labor laws.
Manila 2nd District representative Carlo Lopez, who sponsored DOLE’s budget on the floor, said DOLE’s inspection of a retail giant shows that the company has implemented voluntary regularization.
He added that for the 1st semester alone, it regularized 6,999 workers. But while the retail giant directly hired cashiers and baggers, sales clerks are employed by concessionaires. (ABS-CBN News)
