Rep. Alexie Besas Tutor cites the need for the Civil Service Commission to craft a plan to reduce the count of contractual workers in the government.
At the confirmation of Civil Service Commission Chairman Karlo Alexei Nograles, Bohol Rep. Alexie Besas (3rd District) voiced the sentiments of the House of Representatives on the disproportionately large numbers of contractual and job order personnel at the national and local government levels.
During the ongoing 2023 budget hearings, the House colleagues have repeatedly requested clear paths toward regularization for the more than 493,000 job order personnel and more than 148,000 contract of service workers who are rendering valuable public service as of end June this year.
Tutor noted that currently, the civil service has about 1.82 million professional and non-career employees.
The total number of permanent positions for 2023 is about 1.94 billion of which 1.77 million positions are filled and 170,668 items are unfilled.
Compare that to the over 642,000 JO and COS personnel, who do not have security of tenure and do not have full benefits, including the 13th-month pay and bonuses, but do much of the heavy lifting while their regularized counterparts have much easier work days.
Tutor pointed out that a master plan that addresses this injustice over the next five years should be done. He added that Chairman Karlo Nograles must face up to the challenge.
The situation in the Department of Health (DOH), where Tutor's colleagues in the health professions are working has 91,480 regular positions, yet only 70,442 of these positions are filled, or 21,038 unfilled or vacant positions.
The immense challenges facing the public health sector over 21,000 vacant positions are mindboggling, but the DOH continues to hire thousands of job orders (JO) and contract of service (COS) personnel.
The latest count shows DOH has 8,188 JO and COS workers.
A real, sustainable, fundable regularization of the qualified among the over 642,000 JO and COS personnel consistent with fair Qualifications Standards and the Philippine Qualifications Framework is needed, Tutor said.
The job orders and contract of service workers serving in local government units are 487,149 while those in national government agencies, State University Colleges (SUCs), local water districts, and government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCCs) are 154,928.
These numbers do not yet include the hundreds of thousands of volunteers in the ranks of the barangay health workers, sanitation personnel, barangay tanods, street sweepers, and deputized Bantay Dagat.
Furthermore, at least 3 sets of solutions are needed: one for LGUs, one for the NGAs/SUCs/LWDs/GOCCs, and one for the volunteers.
Tags: #government, #workers