Bulatlat News
By DANIELA MAURICIO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Government employees said the increase in their salaries is insufficient and inadequate, following the signing of Executive Order No. 64 by Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“Salaries of government employees across national and local government agencies, state universities and colleges, hospitals, and other government sectors should be aligned with a living wage,” Santiago Dasmariñas Jr. of president of the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage) in a press conference.
On August 2, 2024, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued the order, which increases the salaries and provides additional allowances to government workers to address the loss of purchasing power due to inflation.
The salary increases, however, will be implemented in four tranches beginning this year to 2027. In the first year of implementation, the increase for Salary Grade 1 or entry level staff is only P530 ($9.17) per month.
The group said that if it is divided into 22 working days, the increase is only P24 per day (less than $1), which is still not enough to buy a kilo of rice. “Even after the fourth tranche is given to an ordinary government employee, the P15,208 ($263.04) monthly salary is a far cry from P33,000 ($570.77) per month,” the group said in a statement.
Progressive groups in the government sector namely, Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines and Courage are pushing for a P33,000 ($570.77) national minimum wage.
Meanwhile, Ruby Bernardo, president of ACT National Capital Region (NCR) Union, criticized the exclusion of job order and contract of service (JoCos) workers from the salary increase.
Bernardo stressed the difficulties faced by government contractual employees, saying that, “it is a shame for the government that so many contractual employees do not receive a living wage, which is a right.”
She also expressed concern that EO 64 would worsen the situation of the underpaid and overworked employees.
The EO 64 applies to all civilian government personnel in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches, as well as Constitutional Commissions and other Constitutional Offices.
Read: Salary increases for soldiers, police, but not for teachers, government employees
Read: ‘No subtantial salary increase for teachers, gov’t workers’
Read: Teachers dismayed with promise of minimal salary hike
According to Dasmariñas, over 800,000 JoCo workers were excluded from the salary increase.
Xavier Buncan, of Kawani Laban sa Kontraktwalisasyon represents JoCos, explained that these workers, despite carrying out duties similar to regular employees, are not recognized as government employees and thus are excluded from any benefits, including the salary increase.
Buncan also called for extending benefits to all government workers and regularizing JoCos to provide job security and fair treatment. “Our position as JoCos is very vulnerable, it is easy for HR (human resources) to dismiss us. There have already been many demotions among us already,” he said.
Dasmariñas also said that employees of the government corporations are also not included in the EO 64. He stressed that Article 9 of the Civil Service Commission in the Constitution mandates Congress to provide fair compensation for government officials and employees, including those in government-controlled corporations.
Bernardo, for her part, said that while Salary Grade 1 employees will receive only a P20 increase over the four-year period, the president’s minimum monthly salary will grow from P419,000 ($7,247.29) to nearly P460,000 ($7,956.45) by the fourth tranche.
“Teachers and government employees are yet again facing inadequate compensation. EO 64 is no different from the meager increases that public employees received under previous Salary Standardization Laws. Despite the over P40 million ($691,830.46) spent supposedly to study the ‘competitive and equitable’ salaries for public servants, we can only expect minimal salary increases over the next four years,” she said. (AMU, JJE) 
