Ateneo de Naga University

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of the Social Sciences

A Case Study on the Status of Blue-Collar Contractual

Workers on Selected Government Offices in Naga City

Submitted to the Faculty of the Department of Social Sciences in fulfillment of the

requirements for POSC121 (Philippine Public Administration)

Submitted by:

ALBO, Al Florence

BORDADO, MerkHamet

PUTO, Joshua Ismael

Submitted to:

Mrs. Joyce Bulao

 Blue-collar contractual jobs mostly revolve on activities including physical labor, or

those jobs based on technical skills, such as welding, janitorial services and construction, in

which most of the satisfaction they feel is seen during on-ground work. However, blue-collar

job workers receive different payment rates in different countries. The situation of an American

blue-collar contractual worker is different from the situation of the same worker in Indonesia.

While most blue-collar contractual workers are being employed by private sectors, there are

countries which use contractualization in hiring blue-collar workers. This is to help the

management of state-run offices and agencies, even though most of them are hired through

private employment agencies. These workers are deemed necessary since they aid in faster

giving of government services, which plays an important role in a society.

The importance of the public sector is an indisputable social and economic reality

throughout the world; there are over 450 million people employed directly in the sector, and at

least 200 million of whom work in government units. Despite all of the past and present

"turbulence", the world share of public employment in total world employment remains large –at

around 30 percent, depending on the levels of economic development and the role played by the

State in the production of goods and services

In the Philippines, most of the workforce are aligned with the private sectors and only a

minority of workers are into public administration or employed in state agencies and offices.

Total public sector employment in the country only amounts to 5.2% of the total workforce of

the country (Hammouya, 2000).

 Ellao (2015) claimed that the scheme of contractualization has also been used by the

government as a short term strategy to compensate on the serious backlog of employees in public

services. In public health, contractualization is used to acquire more doctors and nurses to serve

in remote areas in the country. In the education sector, at least 49,000 teachers are being

employed in a contractual basis, as well as janitorial and manpower services serving in schools,

which is more popularly known as “plantilla positions”.

But this strategy might have post-stringent effects to the situation of public blue-collar

contractual workers in the country. The performance level of the workers tends to be sacrificed,

thus affecting the quality of government services, and it can worsen the problem of

underemployment and job mismatch incidents around the country. For example, a registered

nurse ends up working as a spa therapist or a call center agent in the country. Because of that,

more public sector workers might feel the need to go out of the country, which can inflict the

problem of forced migration for better job opportunities.

As a developed city, Naga does not only have a growing commercial and industrial sector

but also home to numerous public and government institutions which provide basic state services

to the people. As the city emerges as a center for government transaction and services in the

Bicol Region, state-managed agencies and offices are in need to employ more skilled workers in

order to make transactions faster, efficient and effective. Most of these offices also employ the

service of blue-collar contractual workers through direct employment or private agencies. Most

government agencies may most likely do this strategy because of the demand for faster

government services within the City which is home to almost 250,000 people.
 This paper will discuss the status of blue-collar workers in varying government offices in

Naga City and explore the correlation of job satisfaction and their current performance levels.

The paper would also attempt to examine possible recommendations and suggest viable

proposals based on the findings and conclusions found.

This study focused on the relationship of the satisfaction ratings and performance levels

of public blue-collar contractual workers on selected government offices in Naga City namely

Postal Office-Naga, SSS Naga Office, and PhilHealth Naga City.. It used references gathered

from previous researches, observations and limited data gathering concerning the topic. The

paper mainly focused on jobs of blue-collar contractual workers in government offices. The

respondents of the study included contractual workers and heads of the aforesaid institutions

such as Department Heads or Human Resources heads.

This study on the correlation of satisfaction ratings and performance levels of public

blue-collar contractual workers in Naga City is beneficial to a number of stakeholders. First, it

would be in the best interest of public blue-collar contractual workers since it would aid in

understanding their line of work as well as have an insight to better improve performance in their

respective jobs. It would also give a glimpse on how to properly increase their work satisfaction.

Second, it would benefit public institutions as they would have an idea on the current situation of

their employees, providing further information for the development of policies and programs that

can improve work efficiency and effectiveness. Third, it would be assistance to Naga’s local

government unit and the city as a whole as it would provide an observation to the current

conditions of blue collar workers and hopefully aid in the formulation of new management
strategies that can make the government provide services of higher quality and overall improve

the city’s capability to provide assistance to the general public.

In a study conducted by Valerio (2013), the related study concluded that there are factors

that directly affect the job satisfaction of workers in CASURECO I. Indicators on job satisfaction

include salaries or benefits, promotion, work environment, and adequate and constructive

performance evaluation. The study also correlates that job satisfaction affects job performance

but will vary according to the worker’s attitude or habits. The study also cited that internal

factors such as family, politics and government relations and two external factors:

rewards/incentives and involvement in management can affect a worker’s satisfaction.

De La Fuente (2011) correlated personality trait, work satisfaction, and the prevalent

factors that affect it. Major factors on job satisfactions include: employee to employee

relationship, compensation, promotion, and performance evaluation. The study also concluded

that the personal attitude of workers also affects the satisfaction that a worker feels in his or her

employment.

The results of the study conclude that most openings in Naga City have opportunities for

employment. The study also concluded that most blue-collar contractual workers do not receive

benefits that they should be receiving, and non-membership to labor unions may have negative

effects on workers’ representation in the society.

 This study utilized primarily qualitative types of research, since the questions to be

answered were fulfilled through descriptive data. The study generated a descriptive overview of

the situation of the target population and uncovered the significant relationship of the variables

related in the study. The instruments used in this study are the job satisfaction questionnaire

answered by the selected blue-collar contractual worker respondents and the performance level

questionnaire which was filled in by the supervisor/department heads of the institutions.

The findings show that there are fifteen (15) workers who at least completed college, six

(6) workers who completed education through Technical-Vocational courses, and only three (3)

respondents completed up to secondary education. This result shows that college graduates who

completed courses related to professional jobs may rely on being employed as a blue-collar

contractual worker due to the rampant underemployment in the country. New results further

presented that most of the workers are aged 23 and above, and have stayed in their current

employment for three years or more. It could be concluded that while the workers are only

contractual, many have lasted in the same job. Finally, based on the data, it is shown that more

blue-collar contractual workers are being paid in the middle range of P 5,000-10,000, but it can

still be observed that there are also workers who receive monthly wage from P 1,000-5,000

which is way below than the prescribed, and there are workers that receive better than the

minimum wage. For Bicol Region, the minimum wage set by the Department of Labor and

Employment (DOLE) is at least P 256.00, thus this result can conclude that there is a disparity on

the amount of pay that the public blue-collar contractual workers receive. Some of the

respondents receive less, exact or even more monthly salary as compared to the minimum wage

as set by DOLE.
 The parameter “The workplace is clean and safe for work” ranked first with a very

satisfactory rating. As observed, the parameter concerning on the cleanliness and safety of the

workplace emerged as the top, since it can be observed that most government institutions follow

standard hygiene procedures and safety for workers are also being prioritized. This cites a

positive implication for public blue-collar contractual workers, as their safety is not being

compromised while they are doing their service for a specific government institution.

Meanwhile, the parameter “The feeling of accomplishment I get from the job” which

recorded a very satisfactory rating. The level of accomplishment that public blue-collar

contractual workers feel turned out to the second best rating, since blue-collar contractual

workers have the ability to understand their working situation (i.e educational attainment, level

of work to be exerted). It is also highly reminiscent to the level of accomplishment that they feel,

as they tend to generate their working expectations on those factors. Moreover, most of these

workers have lesser mechanism or capital to provide themselves with a more stable, high-paying,

and permanent job, whether through financial standing or job qualification standards.

The parameter “The praise I get for doing a good job” also had a very satisfactory rating.

This parameter tackles about the appraisal that these workers receive. By principle, government

agencies in the Philippines are prescribed to follow specific guidelines and procedures in the

proper appraisal of workers, either through incentives or actual commendation for completing a

course of action. Also, appraisal on government agencies in the Philippines should follow

specific societal goals and standards, and the standard of appraisal should be unified for every

government employee, and not depending on the hierarchy of the position. These appraisal

systems implemented by the government is also a tool for the self-improvement of employees

and the overall development of the agency.

 The next parameter is “The pay and the amount of work I do”, had a satisfactory rating.

As stated in the profile of all respondents, it can be observed that there is a huge disparity of the

total monthly salary that these workers receive, as some receive less or even more than what is

prescribed. With the rising standards of living, the perception of satisfaction on the payment that

these workers receive is deeply subjective, as these workers have their own separate financial

requirements and needs which have to be addressed through their work.

The following parameter is “The benefits I get from my employer” qualifying with a

somewhat satisfied rating. It deals with the benefits that public blue-collar contractual workers

receive. Although prescribed by law, all employees—whether permanent and temporary—should

be receiving government-mandated benefits and insurance (i.e. GSIS, PAG-IBIG). However,

results show that there is a high dissatisfaction on the quality and level that these public blue-

collar contractual workers receive. The lack of benefits posts stringent effects, and these workers

may feel disenfranchised since they are not entitled to state-mandated support as workers. This

analysis supports the study of Lomoya, where employment benefits are highly contingent to the

satisfaction that the workers feel.

The last parameter is the “Availability of work leaves”, with a somewhat satisfied rating.

It discusses the lack of availability of work leaves for public blue-collar contractual workers.

This result, in actual practice, has detrimental effects to the workers and the institutions itself.

The availability of work leaves serves as one of the key benefits in labor law, and not granting

workers of this right is a clear manifestation of a widespread disenfranchisement of workers even

in the government or public sector, though it is clearly mandated by law.

 The parameter “Works without supervision if necessary” ranked well qualifying with a

very satisfactory rating. It clearly states the level of job competency that blue-collar contractual

workers have. It supports that these kinds of workers follow a certain degree of loyalty to their

respective institutions by accomplishing institutional goals without actual supervision of any

manager.

The parameters “Arrives for work on time”, “Meets work deadline”, and “Follows

organization rules and regulation” all ranked the same, with a near very satisfactory rating. All

parameters fall to the worker’s compliance on the workplace’s rules and regulations. The results

show the public blue-collar contractual workers still religiously follow rules and regulations,

which posts a positive effect to the performance level of these workers. The effectiveness and

efficiency of their respective obligation are being met by the employees, and in turn can bring

positive effects to the organization’s goal of achieving quality service, which is the essence of

Civil Service in the Philippines.

The parameters “Proposes solutions to problems”, “Demonstrates effective leadership

skills”, and “Effectively collaborates with other department members” have all ranked with a

satisfactory rating. It shows that public blue-collar contractual workers are not given a legitimate

platform to voice out their opinions to their respective managers and institutions. Also, it shows

that there is no allotted method of development for public blue-collar contractual workers to

enhance their skills in work, especially in leading and managing their respective employees and

their institution. In turn, this can also affect their communal effort as a group of workers in a

certain government agency which affects the overall output of an institution. This result supports

the study of Parker et. al (2002) wherein temporary workers are restricted in terms of
participation in management, as well as proposing solutions and ideas to address the problems

faced by their organization.

In conclusion, the satisfaction rate of blue-collared workers is quite lower in areas of

compensation and benefits even though they have a high-quality output. This could have a direct

correlation on the worker’s well-being and overall job satisfaction. There is a huge disparity on

the payment and benefits that public blue-collar contractual workers receive. This shows that the

satisfaction rating and performance output of blue-collar workers has a weak intertwinement. It

leads to the findings that performance doesn’t necessarily affect that much the satisfaction of

workers, and at the end of the day, satisfaction on the worker’s side will always be subjective yet

it should still be attended to. For our recommendations, the government, through the Department

of Labor and Employment (DOLE) should conduct check-ups, regular inspection on the

compliance of the employers on labor standards, new regulations on labor policies like right

wage, benefits and compensation rewards, and other policies that would address the situation and

problems of blue-collar workers. Also, it is a must that the human resource heads of blue-collar

workers in public institutions should actively encourage their workers to share their opinions and

suggestions to their managers in which it also affects to the satisfaction that they feel in their jobs

and a certain justification that they also have an impact and a say. Another one is that employees

should be recognized and be given incentives and appraisals for their overall motivation and

satisfaction. There should also be trainings and seminars for the improvement of these workers

that would cater for their overall growth and fulfillment. The bottom line is, society, employers,

and workers should see how much huge of an impact blue-collar worker have for them to be

valued even more and for their high-quality output be given justice and proper recognition or

credits.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Caceres

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