What is happening at SSS today is simply appalling. Workers, obviously at the urging of some senior officers, are leaving their workstations to force the resignation of their CEO. The crime of their CEO? They don’t like his management style. Wait until they meet Cora dela Paz. I think she is even tougher and stricter than Lanny.
What a bunch of crybabies and spoiled brats! I once worked for a government corporation too. The time came when I couldn’t stand the management style of the man Tita Cory appointed President. Unfortunately, I was directly reporting to him. I was not the only senior official who had professional disagreements with our CEO and it would have been easy to organize a rally.
But that was a stupid thing to do. Tita Cory had confidence in him and no matter how misguided I thought she was, they are responsible to the people. So I left the company after over 10 years of service. So did a number of professionals with even more years of service. We didn’t for a moment think we had more right to our jobs than the company CEO who we could no longer respect professionally.
They say they want Lanny Nañagas out because he wants to privatize SSS? But Lanny already said he couldn’t privatize SSS even if he wanted to because the law provides that government must manage the trust fund. Outsourcing some functions that may be more efficiently provided by private sector suppliers, like security and janitorial services is now widely done. Some computer services that are highly technical or those that will be needed only for a period of time should also be outsourced.
What Mr. Nañagas is doing is streamlining SSS operations because it is his duty to do so. Actually, what the protesting SSS workers are proving by walking out of their jobs while a few continue to serve the members is that SSS is overstaffed. Being a government agency, that is not surprising. If this government had balls, I think they should offer a good redundancy program and cut the staff to half. Nothing like a lean and mean staff to ensure efficient service.
It is obvious that if they really had useful things to do, the SSS employees wouldn’t have time to protest and rally. No one who is delivering valuable service to an agency of government or a private sector company should worry about job security. Good managers appreciate good workers because they know good workers are difficult to find. Now, if you are useless to the organization, you really have reason to worry.
But in the case of the SSS, even the useless employees need not worry because Lanny already said there would be no layoffs of current employees. It does seem clear that the poor uninformed employees are being used by some higher officials who do not like Mr. Nañagas because he is cleaning house.
Over dinner with President Arroyo last Tuesday evening, we expressed our view that she should stand by Lanny Nañagas because to give in to anarchy at SSS will invite similar behavior in the rest of the civil service. Imagine if the policemen go on similar protests because they don’t like their Director-General!
Having said that, I also worry about Lanny’s continuing ability to lead the SSS. That is also an undeniable practical consideration. The President told us Lanny still has her confidence and she knows who are behind all the ruckus at SSS. Yet, she must restore public service, somehow. This is why it is not easy being President Arroyo.
I think she should have kept Lanny on for now if only to show that anarchy in the government corporate sector will not be tolerated. Moving Lanny out at this time sends a wrong signal about the administration’s readiness to succumb to street blackmail. The President should also immediately press for the prosecution of senior SSS officials who were involved in the anomalous transactions under the past administration.
Since no less than the Erap era administrator, Carlos Arellano, confessed to having been pressured to do those behest transactions that lost billions of pesos in SSS pension funds and these so called career officials apparently agreed to go along with him, they have to be liable for something. They too must be removed from SSS or at least suspended pending resolution of their cases by the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission.
While employees have rights, there must be basic ground rules to allow those entrusted with the management function to manage. If any employee disagrees with their managers, they are free to leave. That was exactly what I did when I was confronted with the same situation in the late 80s. That is also the only decent thing to do.
President Arroyo told us last Tuesday evening that she wants a full investigation of the circumstances behind that vetoed franchise bill. She is confident that her administration will come out of it clean.
I guess she is right. From details that are slowly being made public, it seems that it is the opposition, at least those identified with Erap, who might end up being exposed in an honest-to-goodness investigation.
It is clear that this particular bill was fast tracked. While fast tracking a bill, specially a profitable franchise bill is not uncommon, it is still in violation of the rules. Maybe in addition to the blue ribbon committee, the committee on ethics should look into the circumstances of how this franchise bill was passed. That could be very revealing. I don’t think either house of Congress will risk exposing themselves to the light of public scrutiny.
Gossip monger 1: If Mike wants to help Gloria be a great president, he should get a good role model to guide his behavior.
Gossip monger 2: Like who?
Gossip monger 1: Like Ninoy Aquino when Cory was President. He was quiet and out of sight.
(Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@bayantel.com.ph)