The Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK) decried the extension of the deadline for employment of job order (JO) and contract of service (COS) workers in government from 31 December 2024 to 31 December 2025.

PSLINK said, "it is merely extending the exploitation of these workers."

"It's no different from renewing an ENDO worker in the private sector for another six months or so. Extending the deadline in the engagement of individual contract of service and job order workers does not address the worsening contractualization in the public sector," PSLINK President Annie Enriquez Geron said.

"It will only extend the anxiety and suffering of these precarious workers in the country," Geron added.

According to Geron, without security of tenure, job order, and contract of service workers are left vulnerable to demoralization and abuse at work.

"They will continue to live in fear of losing their jobs and failing to support their families. They will continue to be paid subpar wages and excluded from mandatory benefits and social protection," Geron explained.

"They cannot exercise their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining as they are not considered government employees under existing laws. This ultimately negatively impacts productivity and the quality of public service delivery," she furthered.

She said this is not the first time that the deadline for the engagement of individual job orders and contract of service has been extended.

In 2017, the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Commission on Audit (COA), and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) issued Joint Circular (JC) No. 1 s. 2017, prescribing new rules and regulations governing the hiring of contract of service and job order workers in government until 31 December 2018.

This was followed by JC No. 1 s. 2018, JC No. 2 s. 2020, and JC No. 2 s. 2022 moving the deadline of employment of individual COS and JOs from December 2018 to 31 December 2020, from 31 December 2020 to 31 December 2022, and from 31 December 2022 to 31 December 2024, respectively.

PSLINK has called for the revocation of JC No. 1 s. 2017 and subsequent circulars which would further institutionalize contractualization in the public sector instead of ensuring the right to security of tenure of civil servants as guaranteed by the Philippine Constitution.

Since its issuance, the number of COS and JOs has ballooned to 832,812 based on the CSC Inventory of Government Human Resources as of 30 June 2023.

This coming Labor Day, PSLINK calls on Marcos and legislators to immediately act on the proposed bills ensuring the fundamental rights of government workers to regular jobs, freedom of association, and living wage.

"We urge President Marcos to address the widespread contractualization and informalization in government and certify as urgent the passage of the Security of Tenure Act for government workers regularizing entitled job orders and contract of service and prohibiting exploitative contractual work arrangements," Geron said.

"Amid spiraling costs of goods and services, we urgently need a substantial wage hike and increase in the Personnel Economic Relief Allowance (PERA) for government workers," she added.

Geron said they are hoping Marcos would certify as urgent the passage of the Public Services Labor Relations Act, the proposed bill increasing PERA to P6,000, and a fair Salary Standardization Law that will ensure living wages for rank-and-file government employees and address wage inequities, including the disparity of wages between national and local government employees.