Government workers assured there will be no mass layoffs

Malacañang officials advised government employees yesterday to continue working and avoid rumors that could affect their performance in the wake of reports that 50,000 of them stand to lose their jobs.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye belied reports that some 50,000 public employees will lose their jobs due to the government’s streamlining program.

"Let’s just do our work. Iwasan natin itong mga tsismis (Let us avoid these rumors)," he said in a radio interview.

Bunye said that as far as he knows, there is no such thing as a draft proposal on the implementation of a new policy that could result in the displacement of 50,000 public servants.

"As far as I know, there is no massive termination of workers in the government," he said in reaction to reports that Finance Secretary Isidro Camacho submitted a draft proposal to President Arroyo upon the recommendation of the International Monetary Fund.

Mrs. Arroyo, according to Bunye, is very transparent and the employees would immediately know if she has made a decision.

He said the government, like private firms, normally reviews its system of organization but stressed that the government has no plans to retrench workers.

In the absence of concrete information, public employees should ignore rumors of retrenchment, Bunye reiterated.