4-year P226-billion Salary Standardization Law of 2015

See- Noy OKs pay hike for state workers - Yahoo News Singapore



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President Aquino endorsed to Congress yesterday the four-year P226-billion Salary Standardization Law of 2015 that aims to increase by an average of 45 percent the monthly salaries of 1.53 million state workers.


Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said in a press briefing that payment of just and equitable compensation to government personnel is in accordance with the principle of equal pay for work of equal value.


Abad said the first tranche of the adjustment will take effect on Jan. 1, 2016, and the subsequent three tranches every Jan. 1 thereafter until the final tranche in 2019.


From 2016 to 2019, the monthly basic salary of those under Salary Grade 1 will rise to P11,068 from P9,000. The president, who tops the salary ladder at SG 33, will see a pay increase to P388,096 from P120,000.


“Under the Constitution, no increase in the compensation of the president and vice president shall take effect until after the expiration of the term of the incumbent,” Abad said.


“So for us, it will only be in effect by July 2016,” he said, adding that even the Cabinet members have opted out of the pay increase out of “delicadeza.”


For the legislative members, Abad said adjustments will also only take effect “after the expiration of the full term” of senators and representatives who will approve the measure.


Aside from the salary increase, the compensation package includes a 14th month pay to be given every June and an enhanced performance-based bonus (PBB) system, the Department of Budget and Management said in a statement.


The bill seeks to increase the basic salary of state employees and military personnel on the average by 27 percent, while the 14th month pay will further raise compensation by eight percent. The enhanced PBB is equivalent to one to two months’ salary or an average 10 percent increase in salary.


“Government personnel who play a greater role and carry a heavier responsibility in improving government performance will receive a higher bonus,” Abad said.


“At the end of the four tran-ches, government compensation, on a weighted average basis, is estimated to increase by 45 percent and should be around 84 percent of private sector pay,” he said.


Abad said they are hoping that Congress will prioritize the bill.


Approved before yearend

Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, House appropriations committee chairman, yesterday said the House of Representatives and the Senate will approve the new round of pay increase for government personnel before yearend.


“We are filing the bill today and the committee will meet on Wednesday to endorse it for plenary approval. I don’t think there will be opposition to it. The increase will be our Christmas gift to workers in government,” he told reporters.


He said he, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II would author the bill.


Belmonte said the salary adjustment would be approved in time for its implementation in January.


Ungab said most likely, the pay hike measure would be passed together with the proposed P3.002-trillion 2016 national budget before the end of the year. – With Jess Diaz, Prinz Magtulis


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