(PNA file photo)
MANILA – Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman on Friday said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s decision to extend the tenure of contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) workers in government from December 2024 to December 2025 will provide them security and relief.
"I am delighted to hear about the decision of our beloved President to extend the engagement of COS and JO workers whose contracts are set to expire by end of this year. Malaking kapanatagan po ito sa ating mga empleyado na ma-extend pa ng isang taon ang kanilang mga kontrata sa trabaho. Alam naman po natin na malaking ginhawa ang naibibigay sa isang pamilya kung ang isang kaanak ay may trabaho (Extending their job contracts for another year would provide security to our employees. We all know it would be a huge relief for the family if their relative has a job)," Pangandaman said in a news release.
Without Marcos' one-year job extension, the workers in charge of numerous government projects and regular functions risk losing their employment once the transitional period expires on Dec. 31, 2024, according to the Presidential Communications Office.
Pangandaman said the DBM would also adhere to the President's directive to assist in the conduct of a thorough study of the current state of the government workforce, including the COS and JOs.
The study would look into average data in government agencies, notably contractual workers as a percentage of the total number of government employees and how many plantilla positions are unfilled.
The PCO cited that as of June 30 last year, 29.68 percent (832,812) of the government workforce were COS and JO workers, a 29.71 percent increase from 2022.
The President also ordered government agencies to “develop the skills and capabilities of COS and JO workers” with the help of higher learning institutions to help them pass the civil service examination, a requirement for the government’s plantilla positions.
COS refers to the engagement of the services of an individual, private firm, other government agency, non-government agency, or international organization as a consultant, learning service provider, or technical expert to undertake a special project or job within a specific period.
JO, on the other hand, refers to piece work (pakyaw), intermittent or emergency jobs to be undertaken for a short duration and for a specific piece of job. (PNA)
