VICTORIANO, Karen Yvette F.

Labor Review- Atty. Lorenzo

Q: whether the business knowledge outsourcing and the construction industry were withdrawn from Labor Code and now governed by the civil code.

A: with regard to the Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) along with the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) they are excluded from the coverage of DOLE Department Order NO. 18-A but it does not mean that it is now covered by the civil code and not of the labor code. It simply means that there are developments with regard to this area of employment. Because of the growth of the call center industry in the Philippines, the DOLE issued several circulars to address the needs of the workers in the BPO. For example, HOURS OF WORK, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued DOLE Advisory No. 04-10, providing for guidelines on the implementation of flexible work arrangements. Under these flexible work arrangements, call centers are able to optimize hours of work in order to meet the needs of their foreign clients without incurring additional operational costs.

DOLE Advisory No. 04-10 also provided for an exemption from the night work prohibition for women employees in the BPO industry.  Significantly, the night work prohibition for all women employees was lifted in 2011, under Republic Act No. 10151. 

THUS, the Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) though not covered by the Department Order no. 18-A is still governed by the Labor code.

With regard to the contracting and subcontracting in the construction Industry, it is still governed by the Labor Code of the Philippines. Under section 36 of Department Order 18- A it provides:

“Contracting or subcontracting arrangements in the Construction Industry, under the licensing coverage of the Philippine Construction Accreditation Board (PCAB), shall be covered by the applicable provisions of these Rules and shall continue to be governed by Department Order No. 19, Series of 1993 (Guidelines Governing the Employment of Workers in the Construction Industry);Department Order No. 13, Series of 1998 (Guidelines Governing the Occupational Safety and Health in the Construction Industry); and DOLE-DPWH-DILG-DTI and PCAB Memorandum of Agreement-Joint Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2011 (on coordination and harmonization of policies and programs on occupational safety and health in the construction industry).

In industries covered by a separate regulation of the DOLE or other government agency, contracting or subcontracting therein shall be governed by these Rules unless expressly provided otherwise.”