By Pebbles B. Sanchez, Youth Committee of the Confederation of Independent Unions in the Public Sector (CIU)

Growing in a family of public servants, I had the privilege to witness various undertakings of and within the government whenever I went to visit the offices of my parents. Through years and years of observing a typical day of a bureaucrat and having indulged myself in the study of public administration, I have concluded that working in and for the Philippine government is not as simple as it appears to be.

Distrust has clouded the image of a bureaucrat. The culture of red tape and inefficiency has been attached not only with the systems followed by the government but also with the work force that runs its engine. People have come to think that government employees lack the enthusiasm to serve and the competence to deliver outputs. However, there is something more to this picture. There are several reasons why government employees appear to be laidback and tend to be lenient. 

One raison d’être behind the perceived ineffectiveness of the public workforce is the lack of motivational schemes. In a third world country like the Philippines, a government employee has to make himself fit into a blanket of unjust benefits provided by the largest employer in the land. A public servant of the lowest rank has a salary of approximately 10,000 pesos monthly. Nevertheless, contributions to insurance and health services have to be deducted. Consequently, the employee ends up having less. With the crisis suffered by the country, the world for a more extensive view, which was induced by food and oil inflation, 10,000 pesos (USD $212.00) will be very insufficient to sustain a family and even one’s personal living.

Another predicament endured by public employees is the inefficient distribution of gratuities and insurance. There are issues regarding disorganized and poor insurance systems. Retirees experience difficulty in gaining their contributions and claiming their benefits. Acquiring loans is also complicated even remunerating mortgages.

Furthermore, the environment or the work setting is a crucial factor in achieving quality delivery of goods and services. Research has been done in order to assess the impact of the physical milieu and the intrinsic incentive of a job.

On one hand, George Elton Mayo, an Australian organizational theorist and sociologist, did an experiment at the Hawthorne and the Western Electric Company in order to identify the effect of a work setting to the efficiency of the human resource. The workplace’s better illumination and the clean and relocated work stations were proven to yield positive result to the work force’s productivity. On the other, Frederick Herzberg, a psychologist, developed the Motivation-Hygiene Theory. It states that an employee does not just seek for high salary and pleasant working condition, he, above anything else, strives for a greater level of job satisfaction. The stage of contentment is realized through recognition, achievements, advancement in skills and in career and job enrichment. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs also implies that self-actualization is the highest need.

All of these tribulations are to be overcome. Therefore, in order to ensure the work force’s high quality service, good performance, and avoidance of unwanted practices such as graft and corruption, the employer, the government in this case, has to make available corresponding benefits. The government has to ensure that decent or above average working conditions are being provided.

Much has been the struggle for the attainment of a decent work setting in the country. Labor unions have arisen because of a call to protect the interest of the workers. There is also a need to elaborate, reiterate, and to vigilantly safeguard the rights of the employees. Several issues have been bannered by various labor unions in the country from the proper provision of compensation to a secured and worker-friendly environment. Much has also been done and much still needs to be attended to.

According to a study done by the International Labor Organization (ILO), Asia’s economic performance is not parallel to the creation of job opportunities. This is in contrast with the figures shown by the Philippines National Statistics Office. Total labor force in January 2006 was estimated at 35.2 million, translating to a labor force participation rate of 63.8 percent (census.gov.ph). However, during graduation season, young people have difficulties in getting employment.

Another concern on the labor force is the employees’ health and safety. ILO found out that every year 1 million workers are killed in Asia by occupational-related diseases and accidents.

Indeed, there are still problems with the work setting in the country. However, on the lighter side of things, efforts are being done in order to improve the labor force’s condition.

As for the infrastructural set-up of offices, platforms for the disabled are built. Clinics and work-out rooms are also constructed as an answer to health concerns. Libraries are also being set-up in order to provide a room for unwinding and feeding the intellect.

Indeed, working in and for the Philippine government is not as simple as it appears to be. In order to ensure that the labor force delivers quality services and goods and the rights of its employees are protected, the government should ensure the provision of a decent public work conditions for its employees. Nothing can be more fulfilling than to see an effective, efficient, economic system and a well resourced human resource.