Employers hit conflicting interpretations of ‘endo’

Conflicting interpretations of what counts as “endo” have led to more than 40 companies being accused by the government of the illegal practice, the country’s employers’ group claimed.

Donald Dee, president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop), told reporters on the sidelines of a conference that these Laguna-based companies had reached out to the business group for assistance.

The problem, he said, was that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and its regional director had conflicting opinions on what counted as endo.

Endo is commonly referred to as the illegal practice done by abusive employers wherein workers are hired on a short-term basis to avoid paying the benefits afforded to regular workers.

This word, however, has taken a different form on the ground, particularly in Laguna. Dee said the accused firms came from different industries such as garments and electronics.

When asked for an example of a conflicting interpretation, he said that hiring a service contractor alone was already enough to be considered as endo.

“But that is allowed under the law,” he said, referring to how the law allowed legitimate forms of contractualization.

This comes amid pressure on President Duterte to fulfill his promise to end endo, which has prompted his administration to come up with department orders to help strike a balance between the interests of employers and labor groups.

DOLE itself has already been slapping compliance orders against some companies and their contractors to regularize their workers, including those hired for the operations of Jollibee Foods Corp. and the now controversial NutriAsia Inc.

The line, however, has sometimes blurred between what qualifies under legal contractualization and those considered illegal such as endo.

Dee said they would review the government’s action on the Laguna-based firms.

“If there is really no [basis for the accusations], we’ll fight that. If we have to sue, we will sue,” he said.