Labor groups on Thursday objected to the proposed extension of the maximum probationary period of workers from the current six months to two years.
“We reject the bill. Disguised as a proworker House bill, this measure, if approved into law, will permanently institutionalize the modern-day labor slavery system in the country,” Trade Union Congress of the Philippines president Raymond Mendoza said in a statement.
Probinsyano Ako Rep. Jose Singson Jr. filed House Bill No. 4802 extending the six-month probationary period to two years, saying the current period is not sufficient for an employer to determine an employee’s fitness for regularization.
For the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, “it is an indecent proposal and contrary to the Decent Work Agenda that the Philippines has committed to in its Decent Work Country Program.”