CORTEZ, Charisse Iva R.

December 4, 2019
SEM 3 – 2E Final Paper

Rerum Novarum
The plight of laborers was brought to spotlight in 2018 when the employees of NutriAsia

rallied against their employers to end contractualization and to hire them as regular employees.

One employee shared that he has been working for NutriAsia for seven years but he still earns

a measly P380 every day. He works for more than 12 hours a day but he is never regularized.

This is the plight of most workers who have no choice but to continue toiling for their families.

The employees picketed outside of NutriAsia, however, it ended in violence as police officers

dispersed the employees with brute and force. Some of the picketers were even detained, as if

fighting for one’s rights is a heinous crime. Since that incident, numerous laborers in other big

companies, such as Jollibee and SM, have risen up to end contractualization1.

What is contractualization and why are laborers are fighting to end it? In an endo

contractualization, Endo workers are bound by a five-month time frame so that companies will

not make them regular employees, who become entitled to various benefits after six months at

work. However, not all contractualization are unlawful. The Labor Code provides for a legal

contractualization wherein employees of contractors and subcontractors are entitled to certain

rights and privileges such as security of tenure, self-organization and right to strike, retirement

benefits, overtime pay and 13th month pay2. It is acknowledged that not all forms of

contractualization should be banned and punished as it would also affect businesses that could

potentially close due to the cost of regularizing all employees.

1
Rey, A., & Bautista, J. (2018, June 18). LOOK: Why NutriAsia workers are on strike. Retrieved December 2, 2019,
from https://www.rappler.com/nation/205166-reason-nutriasia-workers-on-strike.
2
Clanivel, Roy Stephen. (2018, April 30). Business groups also oppose ‘endo’ but not legal contractualization.
Retrieved December 2, 2019, from https://business.inquirer.net/250061/business-groups-also-oppose-endo-not-
legal-contractualization.
 President Duterte, at the beginning of his term, expressed his desire to end

contractualization, but he recently vetoed the Security of Tenure Bill aimed to stop

contractualization. Despite this, DOLE and various labor groups are still continuing in their fight 3.

Protecting the rights and welfare of our laborers is not just the job of our government. The

Church, in Rerum Novarum issued by Pope Leo XIII, emphasized the importance of laborers

and condemned injustice and exploitation of workers4.

In Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII noted that it is a mistake to regard that the wealthy

and the working men are intended by nature to live in mutual conflict. The encyclical stated that

“these two classes [labor and capital] should dwell in harmony and agreement, so as to maintain

the balance of the State. Each needs the other: capital cannot do without labor, nor labor

without capital.5” The Church reminds us that religion is a powerful intermediary in harmonizing

the rich and the working class by highlighting the duties of the employer to its employees and

vice versa. The encyclical enumerated the following obligations of the employers: “not to look

upon their work people as their bondsmen, but to respect in every man his dignity as a person

ennobled by Christian character. They are reminded that, according to natural reason and

Christian philosophy, working for gain is creditable, not shameful, to a man, since it enables him

to earn an honorable livelihood; but to misuse men as though they were things in the pursuit of

gain, or to value them solely for their physical powers - that is truly shameful and inhuman 6.” On

the other hand, the employees must fully and faithfully perform the work they agreed to do, to

never injure the property of the employer and to never use violence in protecting one’ s rights7.

3
Tomacruz, S. (2019, July 26). After Duterte's veto, labor groups vow to continue fight vs endo. Retrieved
December 2, 2019, from https://www.rappler.com/nation/236359-after-duterte-veto-labor-groups-continue-fight-
vs-endo.
4
Leo XIII. (1891). Rerum Novarum. [Encyclical Letter]. Retrieved from http://www.vatican.va/content/leo-
xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid.
7
Ibid.
 Rerum Novarum further provides that those in power and those with riches, must use

them aright8. It further provides that those in poverty and those who earn their bread by labor

are called “blessed” by God and He “displays the tenderest charity toward the lowly and the

oppressed9.”

In light of this, the Church calls for a middle ground. The employers in corporations must

give their workers their due and the workers, in turn, must work efficiently for the company. It is

true that without these two forces – the labor and the capital, although they may seem to be

separate and distinct from each other, must co-exist in harmony because one cannot thrive

without the other. It is, however, my point of view, that the employers have a bigger obligation to

their employees. This is because the employers are in a position of power, influence and money

while employees are always on the opposite side of the scale. Hence, employers ought to take

care of their manpower and give to them what is due – security of tenure, proper wage and

benefits.

Hence, it is only proper that the government, the Church, employers, employees, labor

unions and the general public must be more compassionate and understanding towards the

hardships of our laborers. The working force is the backbone of our country, and without them

no industry will thrive. As such, their rights to security of tenure and their rights to express their

plight must be given importance and priority. There will always be inequalities, as noted by the

encyclical, but if we all work together and use the teachings of the Church to guide us, there is

hope for our fellow working class. On a final note, Rerum Novarum aptly stated that “the happy

results we all long for must be chiefly brought about by the plenteous outpouring of charity; of

that true Christian charity which is the fulfilling of the whole Gospel law, which is always ready to

sacrifice itself for others' sake.10”

8
Leo XIII. (1891). Rerum Novarum. [Encyclical Letter]. Retrieved from http://www.vatican.va/content/leo-
xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html
9
Ibid.
10
Ibid.