Fearing mass lay-off
OWWA Union Hits Restructuring

A government union is holding Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas responsible for the restructuring at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) that would result in the displacement of its workers.

BY AUBREY STA. CRUZ MAKILAN
Bulatlat

A government union is holding Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas responsible for the restructuring at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) that would result in the displacement of its workers.

According to the OWWA-Lapian, the employees’ union at the OWWA, the restructuring taking place at their office is a scheme of no other than Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas.

“Actually, she is the ‘mastermind of all schemes’ happening in OWWA,” an OWWA-Lapian member who requested anonymity told Bulatlat July 23.

OWWA-Lapian is a member of the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage) and DOLE Employees’ Union.

The cost of restructuring

“Binulaga na lang kami ng isang letter [from Sto. Tomas in mid-April] na aprobado pa ng DBM [Department of Budget and Management]” (We were surprised upon receiving a letter from Sto. Tomas in mid-April that it was approved by no less than the DBM), the union member said. “Advisory na nga lang ‘yun para sa aming employees” (It was just an advisory for us employees).

With the restructuring, the central office will be downsized and the regional offices expanded. Many programs will be phased out if the plan gets to be implemented, the OWWA-Lapian member said. For instance, he said that the legal department has been reduced to legal staff.

To stay on the job, the source said, many employees in the central office should agree to be transferred to regional offices.

Aside from this, he also said that the 29 casual and 189 contractual employees of OWWA might be excluded from the restructuring.

Before, the appointment of casual and contractual employees would last from six months to one year. Now, they were only told they could work only until July. However, the budget allotted for casual and contractual employees is only until June, the source said.

The reorganization is expected to affect not only the employees but also the services to overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and their families.

The Reintegration and Livelihood programs were also reformed. As a result, OWWA will have to give its funds to the banks which will in turn be tasked with providing service to OFWs and their families. The union, however, questioned the transfer of funds to the banks since the funds are private.

Furthermore, the OFWs’ representation gets reduced. Before, there were welfare officers and coordinators in the Filipino workers development centers. “‘One-stop shop’ na ngayon, sama-sama sa embassy pero center coordinators na lang, wala nang welfare officer” (It is now a one-stop shop, with everything in the embassy but there are only center coordinators, no more welfare officers), the OWWA-Lapian member said.

Meanwhile, due to OFWs’ demand, the general assistance fund - which had been gradually phased out starting mid- 2003 - was restored.

Well-planned

The OWWA-Lapian member said that they have been hearing of OWWA’s restructuring since the time of former Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma but this was only pursued during Sto. Tomas’ term.

The source added that the past restructuring plan somehow still involved the OWWA management. “Ngayon, totally wala nang papel ang buong employees, formality na lang na kasama pa ang management na mga tao rin naman ni (Labor Secretary) Pat” (Now, the employees do not have any role anymore, the inclusion of the management is just a formality since these are people of Labor Secretary Pat Sto. Tomas anyway), he said.

He also revealed that the restructuring was well planned. He said that before implementing it, Sto. Tomas was already putting her people in key positions at the OWWA. He cited the replacement of former Administrator Wilhelm Soriano by Virgilio Angelo and the former deputy administrator, who is now assigned in an overseas post, by Technical Education Skills Development Authority‘s (TESDA) Milagros Hernandez. The OWWA’s administrator and deputy administrator are appointed by the Philippine President.

Committees like search and placement were allegedly created by Sto. Tomas. The search committee publishes job vacancies in OWWA while the placement committee designates employees to work positions in the new organizational structure. Both committees are headed by Sto. Tomas appointees.

The OWWA-Lapian member told Bulatlat that all of Sto. Tomas’ moves are being backed by the OWWA Omnibus Policy that served as her first step.

Government policy

Meanwhile, Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran challenged President Macapagal-Arroyo to make a categorical statement that there will be no mass lay-offs in the public sector during her term.

Beltran posed this challenge in reaction to Finance Undersecretary Nieves Osorio’s and Budget Secretary Emilia Boncodin’s statement that the government is already exerting efforts to trim the bureaucracy through administrative measures due to the Palace’s belt-tightening measures.

Beltran said that, according to the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Budget and Management, “the government intends to reduce the 1.5-million strong bureaucracy by as much as 30 percent under a rationalization scheme which will be proposed for approval to Congress.”

Beltran said that among the government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) “scheduled for immediate sale or dissolution” are the National Electrification Administration, Local Water Utilities Administration, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, Home Guarantee Corporation, National Housing Authority, the Light Rail Transit Authority, Philippine National Oil Company, National Irrigation Authority, National Development Company, Philippine Ports Authority, Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Philippine National Railways, and the National Food Authority.

"It's cruel and unjust that over 1.5 million government employees are deliberately being kept in the dark regarding the plans of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration and its agencies for restructuring and mass lay-off,” Beltran said.

Legal action

A preliminary injunction on the annulment of OWWA restructuring was filed in the first week of July in a regional trial court in Metro Manila. Petitioners include selected members of the OWWA’s management committee (ManCom) and Connie Bragas-Regalado in behalf of the OFWs. The case has just finished two hearings.

“Employees are against the reorganization because services and programs will now be further reduced. (The) structure (is) not responsive to (the needs of) OFWs,” a ManCom member who requested anonymity said. Bulatlat

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