Recently,
the Civil Service Commission issued an advisory reminding all government
agencies to impose and monitor the core hours of its offices in ensuring
performance of their public service duties to the public. This includes
ensuring that the 40-hours per week work requirement is fully rendered by each
government employee.
CSC
Memorandum Circular No. 25, Series of 2019 was then issued directing agencies
to formulate their internal rules in the implementation of flexitime with the
approval of the head of the agency. What is required is that the public is
assured of continuous services from 8AM to 5PM, including lunch breaks.
Nonetheless, agencies may consider extending their frontline service hours
before 8Am or beyond 5PM, and even opt to consider Saturdays and Sundays as
regular workdays provided the employee is able to avail of a the mandated
2-rest days per week.
RA 8972 or the Solo
Parents Act
In
2014, pursuant to a directive to review the availment of benefits under the
Solo Parents Act, the Policy Development and Planning Bureau (PDPB) was tasked
to conduct a survey on flexi-time work schedules and this resulted in a policy paper
referred to the Human Resources Management and Development Bureau (HRMDB) for
consideration of the Secretary. This effort was also fully supported by the
Gender and Development - Technical Working Group (GAD-TWG).
This
policy was eventually reiterated in the April 11, 2017 Memorandum from the Secretary
signed by then DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo implementing a FULL flexitime
schedule for DSWD Central Office employees.
The previous DSWD Management then considered
the Solo
Parents Act of 2000 or Republic Act No. 8972 which specifically grants Solo
Parents a “flexible work schedule”. To wit:
“This refers to the right of a
solo-parent employee to vary his/her arrival and departure time without
affecting the core work hours as defined by the employer.
The employer shall provide for a flexible
working schedule for solo-parents, as long as it shall not
affect individual and company productivity.”
GAD Gender-Sensitive, Women-Friendly Policy
Besides
the clear provision of the law under RA 8972 otherwise known as the Solo
Parents Act which employers are bound to grant their workers whether in the
private or public sector, the general sentiments gathered from the DSWD
employees is that a “sliding” or full-flexitime is most favorable as working
hours for single parents and DSWD staff who are serving as primary caregivers
of sick, disabled, or ageing family members. With this arrangement, they are
able to take care of their family members and fulfill their familial duties
without compromising their office responsibilities. It must be remembered that
the DSWD is also primarily tasked to monitor the implementation of the Solo
Parents Act as Chair and convenor of the Special Review Committee (SRC) of RA
8972, in addition to the fact that it is incumbent upon it as an employer to
grant said benefit. As such, the DSWD GAD-TWG has consistently claimed this as
a gender-sensitive, if not women-friendly policy of the Department.
Heavy Traffic and Problematic Public
Transport
CSC
Chairperson Alicia R. Bala, a former DSWD Undersecretary and GAD Champion,
rationalized the issuance of the CSC Memorandum Circular No. 25, S. 2019 as
“part of the government strategies to address traffic congestion” and this
“flexibility in the daily work schedules is a way to spread the volume of
people on the road, especially during peak hours”. And admittedly, most of DSWD
rank-and-file employees are daily commuters and have to contend with the
difficulties of public transport from Monday to Friday. Not all of them are
able to catch the very few DSWD shuttle services provided to the employees, and
only DSWD officials have assigned service vehicles and are provided
Representation and Travel Allowance (RATA). It makes sense for the DSWD
management to adopt policies that are considerate of employees’ welfare and
interest, and not impose restrictive rules which will make it more burdensome
for everyone.
Note
that for most DSWD employees, they understand that the nature of true
development work requires them to render more than the daily 8-hrs or 40-hr
workweek, oftentimes sacrificing personal and family time just to be able to do
their job. The government is never “cheated” out of the CSC-required working
hours by DSWD employees because most of the time they already render service
over and above the call of duty and beyond the regular office hours.
