Government contractual, job order employees assured of salaries

MANILA, Philippines — Contractual workers employed by government agencies under the contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) arrangements will still receive their salaries despite the enhanced community quarantine being implemented to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said yesterday.

This is pursuant to a joint  circular issued by the Commission on Audit (COA) and the DBM on March 19, providing the interim guidelines governing COS and JO workers in the government for the duration of the community quarantine.

 “As government agencies have begun adopting alternative work arrangements for this situation, there is a need to integrate COS and JO workers’ work schedule and their welfare in the internal guidelines of government agencies that are engaging their services,” the circular stated.

Under the new issuance, COS and JO workers who will not be required to report for work due to work suspension and those who are not part of their agency’s skeleton workforce shall be paid their salaries or wages, as an exception to the “no work, no pay” principle during this period.

Furthermore, COS and JO workers who will be required to work from home shall also be paid their corresponding salaries.

Additional benefits may also be granted to COS and JO workers who will be part of the agency skeleton workforce and will be able to physically report for work during the quarantine period, as may be authorized by the Office of the President.

 “COS and JO workers shall strictly observe strict social distancing measures in the workplace,” the circular added.

Agencies were also ordered to ensure that their workers are provided with support mechanisms, such as clean workspace; essential provisions, such as hand soap, alcohol or hand sanitizer; health and psycho-social interventions like stress debriefing, and appropriate technologies to minimize face-to-face contact.

The joint circular covers all COS and JO workers whose services are directly engaged by departments, bureaus, offices and agencies of the national government.

Local government units were also encouraged to adopt the circular.

 “Institutional COS workers assigned in government agencies to provide services, such as janitorial, security, consultancy, and other support services are excluded from the coverage of this joint circular,” the DBM and COA said.

The joint circular shall be implemented retroactively, beginning March 15 or the beginning of the community quarantine period.