MANILA – Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto urged the national government to have mass regularization of its casual workers as the country celebrates Labor Day this weekend.
According to the senator, the government should give priority to those who were employed for years already.
“It can begin with contractual workers in government hospitals. Not only medical staff but essential workers like attendants, cleaning and sanitation personnel, equipment technicians,” Recto told Panay News.
The government should also “open a pathway” to regular employment for the thousands of casuals who may be eligible for jobs that carry security of tenure.
“The President can get the ball rolling by issue a policy announcement on May 1. Siguro kahit promise lang mula sa Pangulo para masimulan ang proseso, malaking hakbang na,” Recto said.
Currently, the government has 600,000 contractual employees based on the data from the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in August 2020, a five-fold increase from the 120,000 reported in 2010.
“There are many civil servants who work on the basis of one short-term contract to another. Hindi na e-endo. Hindi rin naman nape-permanent. They languish in the bureaucracy’s version of purgatory,” he stressed.
It can be remembered that President Rodrigo Duterte promised to curb the contractualization in the Philippines during his presidential campaign in 2016./PN
