SC rules on PAGCOR workers

THE Supreme Court (SC) said contract of service workers employed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) are not government employees under the Civil Service Commission’s (CSC) jurisdiction.

The top court’s First Division said employees working for PAGCOR in its hotel and restaurant business under a contract of services and job order setup are not covered by the CSC’s law, rules, and regulations.

The case stemmed from a petition filed by job order workers of PAGCOR seeking recognition as regular government employees to enjoy benefits, such as the security of tenure, retirement benefits, and other privileges given to civil servants.

The tribunal ruled that PAGCOR’s job order workers are outside the purview of government employment as defined by existing labor laws and civil service regulations.

It added that there is no employer-employee relationship between the government and job order workers whose services are not considered government services. 

The agency hired the petitioners as cooks, waiters, purchasers, pantry aides, and other positions. They signed a contract with PAGCOR for a fixed term but were occasionally renewed. They worked for the agency for a total period ranging from one to 17 years.

When PAGCOR closed its hotel operations at the Goldenfield Complex and relocated to L’Fisher Hotel, both in Bacolod City, it did not renew the individual contracts of the petitioners.

They filed an illegal dismissal complaint before the CSC Regional Office, saying they were regular employees entitled to security of tenure, but the agency junked their complaint for lack of jurisdiction and found that they were job order workers and not government employees based on their contracts. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana