Watch: 1,500 PLDT Contractual Workers Personally Thanked DOLE Sec Bello, USec Maglunsod (Video)

In a very unusual scenario, around 1,500 contractual employees of PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone Inc.) gathered in front of DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) main office in Manila last Thursday, August 10. but not to hold a protest rally. Instead, they went there to personally thanked the Labor department for their efforts for their regularization. Watch the video below.



In his speech in front of the PLDT contractual workers, DOLE Usec Joel B.Maglunsod explained the details of the talks between the Labor department, PLDT management and its labor union groups to end ENDO (End of Contract). According to the leftist Duterte cabinet official, DOLE started the Special Assessment or Visit of Establishment on PLDT last year.

Maglunsod, who has been a member for KMU (Kilusang Mayo Uno) for 30 years and became Anakpawis Partylist Rep in 2009., added that based on their assessment on PLDT, the job functions of PLDT contractual workers are the same as their regular employees. He noted that the same concerns also apply to some contractual supervisors of PLDT.

Interestingly, the said efforts to end ENDO at PLDT became a reality last July 20, when DOLE Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III announced that DOLE has ordered PLDT to regularize its 8,720 employees. He noted that PLDT and its 47 contractors should also pay for the overtime, holiday, and 13th month pays, and other unauthorized deductions to its employees.



“PLDT and its contractors have been violating labor standards and they failed to refute the findings on the labor-only contracting activities. These employees must be regularized and entitled to security of tenure,” Sec. Bello said at that time, adding that PLDT also violated Occupational Safety and Health Standards, particulaly in providing safety tools for their employees.



Meanwhile, Usec Maglunsod noted that PLDT's issue on contractual employees should have ended earlier. However, he said that PLDT's Compliance Order was only completed on July 3, because the telecom company made an appeal. He also requested the PLDT contractual workers to be patient, and that the effort to end ENDO will not stop at PLDT.

Contributed by Renato Pasayao