‘What are we?”

Good day! I am writing in support to your stand for security of tenure, and to merely express my sentiments on the institution I’m currently employed at.

I work as a Job Order employee in my organization. Somehow, I find the term “Job Order” way too discriminating. Upon reading my contract, workplace discrimination has already reflected to it. Some of the paragraphs included were: no employer-employee relationship to exist, shall follow no work-no pay basis, shall be given no benefits, and the service of a job order employee shall not be considered as a government service.

Workplace discrimination between regular and job order employees even manifests in simple ways. One of which was the compliance to the wearing of official uniform. All regular employees are required, and job order may or may not wear uniforms, given that they follow the color-coding of clothes every day. Even in intramurals, discrimination exists. Regular employees who would want to join a sporting event are assured of a slot in a team, and job order employees have to wait until there is/are vacant position/s in the team. In our Union, regular employees get to enjoy the benefits of joining in a union. Recently, there was an election for the union officials in our institution, and job order employees are restricted to vote.

One of my concerns goes this way. If our service is not considered as a government service, then what are we? What role do we play in our respective institutions, most especially in our country? What is our identity? How can we be recognized? How can we advance in the fields that we chose? I came from one of our country’s premiere universities, where Filipino ideology is taught and instilled to its students. Each day has been passing with my hope that my motivation to at least help our country would not reach its lowest point. Secondly, I empathize with my co-employees who have been in government service, or in mere service rather, for decades. They will retire with nothing. With all honesty, these employees are even way better than some of the regular employees, based on my objective observation. True enough, in the lenses of a job order employee, working in a government is never and will never be motivating.

Few months from now, I may be regularized. But my fear does not end here. I must at least voice out my stand. In view of the above, I do hope through your initiative, my fear on the degrading quality of government service and unjust workplace conditions will soon vanish.