24 traffic aides to lose jobs due budget constraints
Traffic Management and Engineering Unit (TMEU) chief Insp. Robert Foerster yesterday confirmed the non-renewal of contracts of the city's 24 traffic auxiliaries effective May 16, 2008 for lack of budget.
Foerster said in an interview over dySI Super Radyo that he has received a written communication from City Administrator Melchor Tan regarding the non-renewal of contracts of the 24 traffic aides.
Foerster said, the city administrator cited as reason for the non-renewal the "budgetary constraints" incurred by the city government.
Foerster admitted that the removal of 24 traffic aides would, in a way, affect their operations in implementing the city's traffic ordinances but he respects the decision of the executive department.
Meanwhile Tan clarified that the job orders of the city's 290 traffic aides will end this month of May. He said the renewal of their job orders will depend on the result of the evaluation and recommendation of the TMEU and Traffic Technical Working Group (TTWG).
Tan said, TMEU and TTWG are expected to submit their recommendation report on May 25, nearly a week before the job orders of traffic aides expire.
In a telephone interview, Tan described the plan to eliminate the undesirable traffic aides as "routinary." He refused to call it a cleansing process among the city's traffic aides.
"Let us admit there are indeed traffic aides with undesirable behavior while in the streets. The city could not tolerate and continue to hire them," Tan said.
Tan takes charge in the hiring of casual and job orders at the city hall.
There are already number of stories that happened in the past involving traffic aides, from illegal acts of collecting money from drivers and even fighting with the drivers when the latter refuse to give their license once caught.
The traffic aide's supervisor Roque Tancinco was tasked to inform all the traffic aides of the ongoing evaluation and the danger of losing their job should they fail in the evaluation performance.
Tan clarified that the traffic aides should be given prior notice before the non-renewal of their respective contracts or their termination.
If he is given the chance, Tan said, he would give these traffic aides chances to reform before losing their jobs on the street.
"There are possibilities that they might reform for fear of losing their jobs, he said adding "majority of the traffic aides depend their bread and butter in their work on the streets."