Labor center supports P3,000 across-the-board salary hike for gov't employees

Public and private sector employees both overworked, underpaid

Uniting with their counterparts in the public sector, labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) today said that the 10% salary hike for government employees pushed by Malacanang is not enough for ordinary employees and will only benefit government executives in higher salary grade levels. "This percentage pay hike is unjust and regressive. It is biased towards managers and will increase the disparity of income between ordinary employees and government executives."

"Government employees who are in frontline offices giving services to the public are asking for a P3,000 across-the-board salary increase. An across-the-board salary increase is favorable to the lower income employees because they would be getting a higher percentage based on their current pay compared to those who are currently receiving higher salaries. Percentage pay hike only stands to benefit cabinet secretaries, undersecretaries and executives of various government agencies including Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo," said KMU Secretary General Joel Maglunsod.

"Arroyo who is under salary grade 30 and receiving more than P50,000 a month, will collect an average of P5,000 salary increase, while employees under Salary Grade I will receive only an additional take home pay of P508 a month or P25.40 per day. On the contrary, a P 3,000 across-the-board would mean a 59% increase for a Salary Grade 1 employee while Arroyo would be receiving 6% increase."

The labor leader said that middle to high level managers and directors in government agencies are supporting the 10% pay hike proposal which allots P10.3 billion as first installment for a so-called "merit-based, performance-driven compensation reform package for public sector workers. "Describing the situation of public and private sector employees as 'overworked and underpaid' is actually an understatement. The government simply refuses to grant substantial pay hike for all workers but allows gratuities for bureaucracy executives."

On February 6, KMU will lead a nationwide workers' protest to continue to press for the P125 across-the-board, legislated wage increase.