Groups call for security of tenure for contractual government workers
MANILA, Philippines — As the proposed measure to prohibit the practice of labor-only contracting moves closer to President Rodrigo Duterte’s desk, labor groups said they are disappointed that government contractual employees might not benefit from the passage of the Security of Tenure bill.
Labor group Kawani Laban sa Kontraktwalisasyon said the government has been ignoring the security of tenure of its more than 800,000 contractual employees.
“The government is the biggest violator of worker’s rights. Many of the contractual employees are already in their five to 30 years service and they don’t enjoy regular incentives, benefits and bonuses that regular employees receive,” Roxanne Fernandez, KALAKON spokesperson, said.
She added: “Their tenure remains unsecured even if they hold necessary and desirable positions needed for the government to deliver basic social services to the people.”
Fernandez said Congress should have passed a Security of Tenure bill that is beneficial to all workers—both in the private and public sectors—since their “necessities and situations are the same.”
The Senate bill is silent on the benefit of the Security of Tenure bill on those working in the public sector.
Last week, senators—voting 15-0—approved Senate Bill 1826, also known as the “End Endo bill”.
“Endo,” a Filipino-coined term for “end of contract” is an abusive practice where a worker is hired for up to five months to skirt a labor law which requires the grant of tenure on the sixth month of service.
‘Ironic’
Labor groups also slammed Joint Circular No. 1 series of 2018, which allows government agencies to hire workers through contractors or service providers.
“In the Department of Social Welfare and Development alone, 90% of all our workforce are non-regular workers (contractuals or contract of service workers) and their hope of becoming a regular employee is almost impossible because of Joint Circular No. 1, series of 2018 unless the government creates an additional plantilla position for them,” Manuel Baclagon, president of the Social Welfare Employees Association of the Philippines, said.
SWEAP is the employees union of the DSWD.
Santiago Dasmarinas, Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE) vice president, called Joint Circular No. 1 “ironic.”
"The very anti-worker scheme that they want to correct in the private sector is being used as a solution to resolve the proliferation of contractual employees in the public sector," he said.
Dasmarinas added: “We demand that the government immediately regularize all contractual workers starting from its own backyard and illegalized contractualization both in public and private sectors.” — Gaea Katreena Cabico
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