Proposed SoT law will hurt economy, says employers’ group
The proposed security of tenure (SoT) law, which aims to end “endo” or end-of-contract employment, a practice wherein employees are hired for not more than six months, could affect employers and also the Philippine economy, an employers’ group said. According to the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), if the SoT bill becomes a law, it will have a huge impact on employers and will also discourage local and foreign direct investment. ECOP chairman Edgardo Lacson said the SoT bill could affect businesses, especially small ones, as it will oblige employers to regularize all workers. Lacson said contractualization is practiced in advanced countries like the US. He further explained that employee regularization would act as a “disincentive” to local and foreign investors, who would be forced to move to business-friendly countries such as Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. warned that if labor contracting and job sourcing issues remain unresolved, the country will lose significant amounts of local and foreign direct investment.
