Pay hike for all
No one will be left behind, Aquino assures state workers
No government worker will be left behind in the proposed salary increase in the public sector next year. President Aquino assured this to dispel criticisms that only senior government officials will benefit from proposed higher wages.
“Sabi ‘nung isang kampo, kapag daw ipinatupad natin ito, kawawa naman daw ang mga nasa ibaba na baitang. Bakit daw uunahin ang nasa taas? Actually ho sabay-sabay, e [One camp claimed that once we implement this, pity the lowlevel workers. Why would we supposedly prioritize those in the higher levels? Actually, it will be simultaneous],” the President said during a thanksgiving celebration of a local Baptist Church in Tarlac City last Sunday.
The President said it was only reasonable to raise the wages of government workers at competitive levels with their counterparts in the private sector.
Aquino acknowledged that although the entry-level salary in government is higher compared to the wage offered in the private sector, there is huge salary disparity once the employee gets promoted.
The proposed compensation scheme plans to match by about 70 percent salaries received by private workers to motivate workers to stay and work harder, Aquino added.
“If we don’t give the appropriate salary, those talented workers might run out of love for the nation and instead think of himself and his family,” Aquino said.
“So it’s just fair that we match the government pay to those offered by others so our workers will stay,” he added.
The President said another critic hit the proposed higher pay for government workers would supposedly affect the country’s inflate rate, particularly lead to higher consumer prices.
This same critic, Aquino said, claimed the next day that he would be insensitive if he does not approve the salary hike for government employees.
“In other words, for him, I should not approve it. That’s why we are thoroughly studying the measure to make it reasonable for all,” Aquino said.
The government had earlier set aside 50.6 billion in the proposed 2016 national budget for the salary hike of its 1.2 million workers. The proposed Salary Standardization Law IV is reportedly being drafted by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
The salary increase plan will also reportedly include a three-fold increase in the salary of the country’s next President, currently pegged at 120,000 a month.