PLDT denies terminating service contracts

PLDT Inc. denied on Monday that it had started to unwind agreements with service contract providers to skirt a recent order from the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) for the telco giant to grant about 7,000 workers regular employment.

This came as the Duterte administration ordered a crackdown on companies it believed were practicing labor-only contracting.

PLDT denied terminating any service contracts and reiterated that it had questioned the validity of the Dole order in the Court of Appeals.

PLDT said the Dole had earlier ordered 38 contract providers, including call center and business process outsourcing providers, to “cease and desist from providing services to PLDT.”  —Miguel R. Camus