LABOR Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said that the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) will be submitting its proposals on the new the Security of Tenure Bill (SoT) later this month to the Palace.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Mr. Bello, responding to a question on when the department plans to submit the new measure, said, “Before the end of the month.”
Mr. Bello said the Palace has directed DoLE to submit its own version of the SoT Bill, following the veto of Senate Bill 1826 by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on July 26.
The same vetoed bill has been refiled by Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva on July 29. His father, Cibac party-list Rep. Eddie C. Villanueva, filed the House version of the bill on Monday.
Mr. Bello said that apart from fine-tuning the vetoed bill, he added that the new draft will empower the labor secretary to determine a firm’s core functions, rather than the earlier requirement for a tripartite decision by labor, management and the government.
“It should not be just the management who should define. Ganun din ang (Same goes for) labor… ang middle ground ay yung (the middle ground is the) secretary of labor,” he said.
Mr. Bello expects to meet with labor groups next week. He is also set to meet with Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez for further consultations.
Mr. Lopez told BusinessWorld on Wednesday that there is no set date for a meeting with Mr. Bello, saying only that “It will be very soon.” — Gillian M. Cortez
