Govt agencies barred from hiring more COS, JO workers

Government agencies are now prohibited from increasing their contract-of-service (COS) and job order (JO) workers, as mandated by a joint circular from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Civil Service Commission (CSC), and Commission on Audit (COA) to better manage their workforce.

Agencies must submit an inventory of their COS and JO workers with valid contracts until December 31 to establish baseline data.

The circular states that agencies are not allowed to exceed their current number of COS and JO workers.

Permanent positions should be created for regular functions, while casual or contractual personnel can be hired for temporary projects or activities.

This new measure is subject to review by the DBM or the Governance Commission for government-owned and -controlled corporations and must comply with all relevant budgeting, accounting, and auditing regulations.

The order covers national government agencies, GOCCs with original charters, state universities and colleges, and constitutional bodies, but excludes local government units and COS and JO workers paid from Engineering and Administrative Overhead Expenses.

Agencies are also directed to review staffing requirements, prepare Optimization Plans, and consider existing COS and JO workers for possible absorption into plantilla positions.

Additional provisions include ancillary benefits, reportorial requirements, and responsibilities of agency heads to support worker welfare.