Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 16) — The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) must regularize nearly 8,000 contractual workers and settle over ₱66 million in unpaid benefits.

This comes after the Labor Department said on Monday that Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III rejected PLDT's appeal on the Labor Department's July 2017 order to regularize its workers.

Bello said last week that his office found no merit to overturn the order.

The agency said PLDT must regularize employees of the following companies, which it said were engaged in labor-only contracting:

Activeone Health Inc.

Archon Consulting and System Services Inc.

BBS-VP-VPN Allied Services Corporation

Consultancy, Outsourcing, Recovery and Equivalent Services (CORES) Inc.

El Grande Messengerial Services Inc.

Hibizcom Corp.

JFM Installation & Telecom Services Inc.

M.D. Tambungui Specialists (MDTS) Inc.

MG Exeo Network

Occupational Dental Health Care and Services

PC Tech

Pointman Placement Specialist

Proserve Multi Resources Specialists Inc.

Searchers and Staffers Corporation

SPi CRM Inc.

Unison Computer System Inc.

Upsight Construction Inc.

Aside from being identified as companies engaging in labor-only contracting, the following were ordered to settle ₱66,348,005.41 in worker's claims:

AE Research Exponents Inc.

Aremay Enterprise

Best Option Assistance Inc.

Centennial Technologies & Marketing Corporation

Comworks Inc.

Consolidated Management Resources

Curo Teknika Inc.

Diars Assistance Inc.

Goodline Staffers and Allied Service Inc.

Implicare International Management Resources Inc.

Information Professionals Inc.

Iplus Intelligent Network Inc.

LBP Service Corporation

Meralco Industrial Engineering Services Corporation

Pro Tek Telecoms Support Inc.

Serveflex Inc.

Sitetel Marketing

Software Laboratories Inc.

Tejo Management Services Inc.

Transbio Incorporated

Trends and Technologies Service Maintenance Inc.

We Support Inc.

The Labor Department said most of the companies identified as labor-only contractors made unauthorized wage deductions, failed to comply with the minimum wage and the 13th month pay laws and refused to grant their workers benefits stipulated in the Labor Code.

They were ordered to cease from further engaging in contracting activities. Their registrations were likewise cancelled.

On the other hand, the Labor Department declared Customer Frontline Solutions Inc., Pro Tek Telecoms Support Inc., SL Temps, St. Clair Security and Investigation Inc. and Trigold Security & Investigation Agency Incorporated as legitimate contractors.

The agency said the company has immediately abided to settle unpaid claims, wages and benefits to their employees.