WORKERS in the public sector yesterday said moves to reorganize government agencies should begin from those occupying top posts.
In a statement, the Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK) said it believes that many ranking positions could be ripe for downsizing, instead of rank-and-file employees.
“The planned rightsizing of the government must not lead to mass layoff of rank-and-file civil servants, while leaving the unwanted fat at the top untouched,” the PSLINK said.
“Rightsizing should lean in the direction of cutting excess fat at the top, instead of victimizing the already undermined rank and file civil servants at the bottom,” it added.
Instead of targeting lower-ranked government workers for rationalization, the group said they must instead be helped to have permanent jobs. The group said this is especially true with job orders and contractual workers.
“Rightsizing should include regularization of contractual workers, including job orders and contract of service, especially those who have been working for years without benefits and protection,” said PSLINK.
“The Marcos administration should also prioritize filling up more than 100,000 vacant positions in government,” it added.
In his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday, President Marcos Jr. pressed for his National Government Rightsizing Program (NGRP), which seeks to undertake a comprehensive strategic review of the functions, operations, organizations, systems, and processes of different agencies.
The PSLINK said the NGRP must be undertaken with full transparency and full participation of public sector unions.
“We find it troubling that rightsizing was mentioned as a key priority agenda without any mention of respecting public sector workers’ rights; nor was there any mention of ensuring consultations with public sector unions; nor was there any mention of addressing graft and corruption,” it said.
“The implementation of large-scale rightsizing in the bureaucracy without ensuring transparency, respecting workers’ rights, addressing contractualization, and linking it to a strong anti-corruption drive is certainly bound to fail,” added the group.
It also stressed that rightsizing efforts should not be rushed by government agencies and should not lead to the disruption of public service delivery.
