GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 28 April) – Leaders of the militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and other labor groups here and the neighboring areas will join the scheduled dialogue with President Rodrigo R. Duterte in Davao City on May 1 in line with the 115th Labor Day celebration.
Gerie Lampitco, chief of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board in Region 12, said Friday local labor leaders confirmed in a meeting earlier this week that they would be participating in the dialogue.
Aside from KMU, representatives from labor groups affiliated with the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines are also attending the event.
As a result, he said KMU and its affiliate groups decided to cancel its planned mobilization here on Monday, May 1.
Lampitco said the labor group had earlier scheduled a protest rally in front of Catholic Church-run radio station dxCP along the national highway here.
“Their leaders will instead converge in Polomolok (South Cotabato) and proceed to Davao City for the dialogue with the President,” he said in a press conference.
But Rayan Lariba, spokesperson of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or Bayan Soccsksargen, said their allied groups will stage a protest action here on May 1.
He said they are also coordinating simultaneous mobilizations in other key areas in Region 12.
Lariba said the protest actions will focus on their continuing calls for government to effectively end all illegal contractualization practices, specifically “endo” and labor-only contracting.
He said they will also raise their opposition to Department Order (DO) 174 issued last month by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
DO 174 prohibits labor-only contracting and several other contractual arrangements, but Lariba said it lacked the teeth in dealing with violators.
Sisinio Cano, DOLE-Region 12 director, said they welcome the planned protest actions and noted that it is within the rights of the militant groups to raise their sentiments.
But he noted that the agency has been exerting efforts to address the issue, especially in the region.
DOLE-12 has already recommended the regularization of some 2,175 private workers who were found employed under illegal contractualization schemes.
The concerned employees were from eight local companies and business establishments that had been assessed with such violations. (MindaNews)
