First tranche of salary increase for gov’t workers to take effect this year

Transcript

00:00Government workers in full-time or regular status have a good thing going for them,

00:04as the year winds down, the sixth edition of the salary standardization law.

00:09As early as this month, full-time government employees are bound to receive their first

00:13round of salary adjustments of close to an 18.5% average raise, with 70 billion pesos

00:20allocated for next year's round of adjustments. And as our Soojin Kim reports, while the regulars

00:26in government get all the good blessings, the equally deserving counterparts,

00:30job order and temps in government get so little or nearly none.

00:37The first tranche of the salary increase for government employees is set to take effect this

00:42year. This as promised by President Ferdinand R. Marquez Jr. in his third State of the Nation

00:47Address last July. Budget Secretary Amena Pangandaman said the guidelines under the

00:53National and Local Budget Circulars have been signed and published.

00:56We want to chase our salary in the private sector. On average, the increase from salary

01:09grade 1 to 31 is 15.2%. Now, the increase is 18.2%.

01:18This to guide the salary standardization law 6 or SSL 6. The budget chief made sure to hasten

01:24completion of the new guidelines so new salary adjustments can be made under Executive Order

01:30No. 64 signed by the President last August 2. She clarified that existing personnel services

01:36or PS funds will be utilized to carry out the required salary changes, with any shortfalls

01:42to be covered by the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund or MPBS.

01:46They can use their existing PS and then whatever is lacking, we will get from MPBS.

01:57The DBM earmarked P36 billion under the MPBS for the first tranche. While in the 2025 National

02:03Expenditure Program, some P70 billion has been for the second tranche and further adjustments.

02:09She clarified the speed of the rollout of the differential pay adjustment will depend on the

02:14processing of each agency's human resources department.

02:31The SSL 6 is to achieve the goal of helping public personnel salaries compete with those

02:36in the private sector. Further clarifying that workers under contract of service or COS

02:41and job orders or JOs are not included in the SSL 6.

02:45However, they can give premiums to their salaries. Anytime, they can add up to 20%

02:56to increase their salaries because they don't get the same benefits from the civil service.

03:11SSL 6 is expected to benefit more than

03:13165,000 subprofessionals, close to 1.2 million professionals, and about 22,000 executive

03:20personnel. Meanwhile, Pangandaman also announced a total P9.6 billion allocation for medical

03:26allowances of government workers starting next year. This will provide P7,000 to each

03:32government employee as medical allowance subsidy to maintain HMO benefits.

03:37Excluded are all those receiving HMO. It will cover 1,358,362 civilian personnel.

03:50The yearly medical allowance can be used for various medical services and helping prepare

03:55public employees for any health-related emergencies.

03:58Soojin Kim from the National TV Network for the New and Better Philippines.