PRRD approves gratuity pay for JO, contractual gov’t workers

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte gives the thumbs up while delivering his speech during the mass oath taking of newly appointed government officials at the Malacañan Palace on July 8, 2019. ALFRED FRIAS/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the grant of gratuity pay of job order and contractual government workers for last year in recognition of their hard work.

Duterte signed Administrative Order No.

20 on January 10, authorizing the grant of gratuity pay of not exceeding PHP3,000 to job order and contractual government workers who have rendered “at least four months” of satisfactory performance as of December 15, 2019.

A gratuity pay of not exceeding PHP2,000 will be given to job order and contractual government workers who have rendered “three months or more but less than four months”; not exceeding PHP1,500 for workers who have rendered “two months or more but less than three months”; and not exceeding PHP1,000 for workers who rendered “less than two months.”

In the order, Duterte recognizes that “the State affirms labor as a primary economic force and promotes the welfare of workers.”

The order notes that job order and contractual government workers are paid salaries/wages equivalent to the daily salaries/wages of comparable positions in government and a premium of up to 20 percent of such salary/wage.

However, unlike regular government workers, they do not enjoy benefits accorded to government employees such as the Personnel Economic Relief Allowance, Mid-Year, and Year-End Bonuses and Performance-Based Bonus among others, considering that they have no employer-employee relationship with the government.

Job order and contractual government workers in national government agencies (NGAs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and local water districts (LWDs) are covered under the order.

Local government units are encouraged to adopt in their respective offices the grant of gratuity pay to job order and contractual workers.

NGAs and SUCs will get their funding from their respective available Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) allotment.

They may also request the DBM to make use of their savings by submitting an endorsement to the Office of the President and supporting documents not later than five working days.

The DBM will release the corresponding Special Allotment Release Order and Notice of Cash Allocation, as needed, upon approval of the President.

GOCCs and LWDs will get their funding from their respective approved corporate operating budgets.

As of May 31, 2019, there are over 600,000 job order and contractual government workers, according to the Civil Service Commission.