Human Nature upholds family-friendly practices, anti-endo and ‘no firing’ policies

At least 22 percent of the country’s total working population are contractual workers and have little to no job security, according to the latest Decent Work Statistics released by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Desperate to make ends meet, workers willingly go through years of temporary employment under endo or end of contract,  an illegal contracting practice in which workers are only hired for 5 months.

Abolishing illegal contracting practices in his first hundred days in office was a cornerstone of President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign. Labor laws require regularization (with its corresponding security of tenure, monetary, non-monetary and social protection benefits) or termination of those employed after 6 months (with separation pay).

‘Endo’ ensures that the length of employment makes workers ineligible for the labor code provisions.  

The Department of Labor and Employment has signed off Department Order 174 early this year, which amends the Labor Code’s implementing rules on contractualization.

While ‘endo’ is still the norm for most workers in the manufacturing and service sectors in the Philippines, Gandang Kalikasan Inc., the company behind the Human Nature brand, insists on dignified labor practices.

Compassion at the top the agenda

Human Nature believes that while layoffs are often merely setbacks for the privileged and educated, it can mean the difference between life and death for the poor.

The company deliberately hires people from the low-skilled, marginalized sectors not because it’s cheaper to do so but because the company is set on providing dignified work and opportunities to those who need it most.

The 433-strong company continues to enforce a strict no firing policy for its all regular employees and a firm anti-endo stance.  

Anna Meloto Wilk, Co-Founder and President of Human Nature explains that when the company opened its manufacturing facility two years ago, many jobseekers had be contractual workers for years. One very experienced production worker in particular had been working under 6 month contracts for 14 years. “These are positions that are needed all year round and often require very technical skills and experience therefore the temporary employment contract model should not apply to these positions.”  

At 750 to 825 pesos per day, its rank and file regularized employees in NCR and in the provinces receive over 68 percent above the NCR minimum daily wage of 491 pesos.

Every single employee in the company can look forward to regularized employment instead of 5 month contracts. Once regularized, employees are covered by the firing policy.

Dylan Wilk, Co-Founder and Chairman of Human Nature, shares that the company’s no firing policy has had many naysayers. “‘Why would someone work hard if they know they will not get fired?’, they ask me. But we’ve found the opposite. People want to do well, people want to contribute. When you tell people, especially the poor who have always been told that they’re worthless, that you will never give up on them, it just makes them even more loyal, even more determined to do their best.”

He adds that “We employ people who have lived in slums, thinking that their life would never change until Human Nature came along. We gave them a real way out of poverty and into the middle class. These are the people who have built Human Nature.” At least 58 percent of Human Nature employees come from urban poor communities.

Family-friendly policies

From an organization-wide Sundays off policy, shortening work days to 7.5 hours instead of the conventional 8 to 9 hours so employees have more time with their families, creating child-friendly spaces at its offices, to slowly eliminating the need for graveyard shifts at its manufacturing plant in Canlubang -- Human Nature takes pride in its continued pursuit of family-friendly policies.

“We continuously look for ways to improve everyone’s quality of life,” shares Human Resources Officer Michelle Lucido. She works closely with the employees at Human Nature’s manufacturing facility in Canlubang Laguna.

A 2013 report titled “Gender Equality in the Labor Market in the Philippines” published by the Asian Development Bank together with the International Labour Organization and the Philippine Commission on Women cited that “despite high levels of human capital (in the Philippines), women’s labor force participation rate is much lower than men’s, even compared to other Southeast Asian countries.”. The report added that women had difficulty retaining employment after childbirth.

In 2016, the Human Capital Outlook for the ASEAN briefing given by the World Economic Forum cited that the labor force participation gender gap in the Philippines is at 35 percent. In contrast, Human Nature’s equal opportunity practices have encouraged more women to join its ranks. Almost half of the employees in the company’s manufacturing plant are women and majority of its departments are led by women.  

Human Nature also recognizes that paternal support is crucial. While there is a government-mandated paternal leave of 7 days, the company provides 14 days of paternal leave for fathers up to one month after the birth.

Dignified labor practices are good for business

Human Nature firmly believes that contractualization prevents retail workers from flourishing as they need to master a new industry or new brand every 5 months. Contractual workers are usually unable to match the product expertise of those dealing with the same brand for longer period.

Meloto-Wilk emphasizes: “we are able to train our merchandisers better because they are regularized. We don’t have to incur the cost of training new workers every six months which impacts our business positively. They are also able to build better relationships with our retail partners and are more confident to make decisions on the floor because of their experience.”

 Dina Ocampo, Human Nature’s seventh employee and one of its first warehouse staff, shares: “Di ko akalain na aasenso din ako – akala ko hanggang pangarap lang ako. Siyempre po, hindi ako nakapag-college; high school lang tinapos ko. Di ko napansin na dahan-dahan, naabot ko na ang pangarap ko.”

Today, Ocampo is a Merchandising Operations Coordinator handling a team of 14 merchandisers assigned to 3 supermarkets and department stores in Metro Manila.

Human Nature’s efforts continue to bear fruit. It  is the country’s largest genuinely natural personal care, cosmetics, and home care brand.  There are 32 Human Nature branches across the Philippines and its products are carried by several major retail chains nationwide.

In addition, its direct selling arm has an 80,000 strong network of dealers. The brand has doubled its international business revenues as it expanded its reach in the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Canada.

Human Nature currently has over 150 products on its roster, with new products launched every 8 weeks. Its stores also serve as a distribution channel for 19 social enterprise brands.

Meloto-Wilk hopes that more businesses will pursue social good. Adding that all their efforts stem from a belief that businesses have the capacity to provide large scale, systemic solutions.

“Human Nature is just trying to show that it’s possible. We hope that soon there will be hundreds and thousands of businesses which will dignify the Filipino with the same opportunities and see it as their role to ensure that none of their workers are poor.”