Palace: Salary hike for gov’t workers imminent

Here's something government workers can look forward to.

Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte hinted in a DZRB radio interview Saturday that the proposed salary increase for state workers may come "sooner than later."

While Valte was careful not to talk about the nitty-gritty of the proposal – like the amount of increase that employees would get – she nonetheless noted that a pay hike was imminent.

"Sa akin pong pagkakaalam ay very soon although hindi ko pa po pwedeng ma-i-share ngayon ‘yung mga aktuwal na detalye’ (From what I know, it will happen very soon although I can't share the actual details).

"But, as... President (Aquino) said, we are making very good progress on that proposal because at the end of the day we want to be able to give our government workers a competitive standing as compared to their counterparts in the private sector," she said.

Asked if the Chief Executive had planned to approve the long-sought salary hike as a Christmas gift to government workers, Valte bared that there was no such plan.

"Sa aking pagkakaalam, parang hindi naman po siya intended as a Christmas gift, but — ano po ‘yan — sooner rather than later. ‘Yon na lang ‘yung pwede kong maibigay (As per my knowledge, it's not intended as a Christmas gift, but — it's sooner than later. That's all I can say)," the Palace official told the state-run radio station.

Talks of a possible pay hike for government workers have been going on for months now. Just a few weeks ago, no less than Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad said that the matter was just awaiting Aquino's nod.

However, the proposal would have to go through Congress first before it is implemented. Lawmakers still have a handful of session dates left before the year ends.

Aquino will step down from Malacañang at the end of June next year.

Government workers last got a salary increase three years ago, implementing the provisions of the Salary Standardization Law III that was signed by former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria MacapagalArroyo in 2009.