At least 400,000 ‘endo’ regularized in 2018, DOLE says

December 19, 2018

More than 400,000 contractual workers have regular employment status amid an anti-“endo” campaign of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, as of December 3, there were 411,449 workers being regularized by their employers.

“I know it is still low, percentage-wise, considering the number of contractual workers in the country,” said Bello. “But that 400,000 plus figure is unprecedented in our country. Never in history has that number been achieved,” he added.

Of the number, Bello said only 35 percent were regularized.

The remaining 65 percent, he pointed, are due to voluntary compliance of employers.

Of the 400,000, the labor chief also underscored that close to 12,000 came from the SM malls chain.

He said some 11,660 SM workers have been regularized this year as of end of the third quarter.

“It could even be higher if we include the last quarter of the year,” said Bello.

SM malls in the National Capital Region (NCR) had the most number of regularized workers with 4,800; followed by those in Calabarzon with 2,865; and those in Mimaropa with 1,476.

Bello said the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) has agreed to follow the anti-“endo” campaign of the administration.

“ECOP said all its members will regularize all their employees. We are just waiting for their timeline,” said the official.

Bello said he offered ECOP to have its members exempted from the regular labor inspection activities.

“I offered to waive the inspection of their members unless, of course, there is a complaint filed against them,” said Bello. DMS