Gov’t urged to regularize its contractual employees

Workers and labor groups are urging the national government to regularize its contractual workers, according to Sandra Aguinaldo’s report on “24 Oras” Wednesday.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) earlier said it is planning to ask Congress to give President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. authority to rightsize the bureaucracy in order to save funds.

According to the Civil Service Commission (CSC)’s data, there are at least 177,994 permanent government positions that need to be filled.

Labor group Confederation for Unity Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE) said these must be filled instead of agencies' being downsized.

“Hindi po kinakailangan na ma-downsize kasi ang epekto po niyan ay mass layoff. Itong mga empleyado na ito mga kawani na ito ay matagal na po sa serbisyo. Ang kailangan po siguro ay gawin na silang mga regular employees lalong lalo na po yung mga tinatawag nating JOCOS o job orders at contract of service,” COURAGE president Santi Dasmariñas said.

(They don't need to downsize government agencies; the effect of that is mass layoffs. These employees are staff who have been in the service for a long time. They should be made regular employees, especially the ones we call JOCOS or job orders and contract of service workers.)

Meanwhile, an administration employee who has been working for the government for almost 10 years under a contract of service, appealed for the government not to fire them amid the increasing prices of goods and commodities.

“Sa pamilya kasi namin dalawa or tatlo lang kaming nagtatrabaho, so yung iba kong mga kamag-anak, kapatid, kailangan ko silang suportahan kasi may pamilya sila pero wala silang trabaho,” he said.

(In our family, there are only two or three of us working, so I needed to support my relatives and siblings because some of them have a family but they don't have a job.)

DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said they have yet to identify agencies that will be affected and the number of employees who will lose their jobs.

She, however, noted that teachers, healthcare workers, and uniformed personnel will not be affected by the rightsizing plan.

Asked about those who will lose their jobs, Pangandaman said, “Dalawa po ‘yan…pwede po silang mag-apply doon sa mga position na pwede nating gawin. Yung iba, magbibigay din tayo ng tamang programa para sa kanila for retooling. Kasama natin dito ang CSC at ‘yung magre-retire mayroon naman tayong ibibigay na retirement benefits sa kanila [There are two options. They can apply for the positions we will put up, or we can give them the proper program for retooling. The CSC is with us on this, and those who will be retiring will have retirement benefits],” she said.

Pangandaman said that should 5% of civil servants, for instance, be affected by the rightsizing plan, the government could save roughly P14.8 billion annually on personnel services.

Based on CSC data, there are at least 1,597,973 career employees and 157,451 non-career employees in the government.

The CSC reported at least 449,748 employees are under job order and 132,630 employees are in contract service in some government offices.

Meanwhile, economist Dr. Victor Abola said he is in favor of the government's plan to improve its efficiency.

“Yung downsizing, kung sabihin natin ang isang gobyerno natin masyado maraming ineempleyo na mga iba naman hindi masyado kailangan, ibig sabihin noon meron kang taba na pwedeng mai-reduce. Mas magiging efficient pa ang mga organization pagkamedyo inipit mo ng konti, downsized ka,” Abola said.

(Downsizing is, if a government has many employees some of them are not very necessary, it means then you have fat that can be reduced. Organizations will be more efficient after you squeeze a little, you downsize.) — Richa Noriega/BM, GMA News