MANILA – The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Thursday stated that the government workers can anticipate another salary increase beginning next year.
Following calls made by federations of government unions for an increase in the national minimum salary to PHP33,000 per month, the DBM made the assurance.
“…The last tranche of the modification of the salary schedule for civilian personnel pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 11466 or the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) 5 will be implemented in 2023. Hence, government employees concerned will have another salary adjustment by next year,” the DBM said in a press statement.
According to RA 11466, which was signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte, civilian government employees another round of salary increases broken down into tranches from 2020 to 2023.
The DBM also clarified that a further increase in salary for government workers should be carried out through a legislative measure.
“Once House Bills or Senate Bills are filed, the DBM is providing comments, inputs, or recommendations on the same,” the agency said.
The DBM noted that the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2023 has allotted about PHP47 million under the budget of the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) to support the conduct of a study on the government compensation structure of the different national government agencies and GOCCs.
“This will ensure that the compensation of all civilian personnel will be generally competitive with those in the private sector doing comparable work to attract, retain, and motivate corps of competent and dedicated civil servants,” the DBM said.
It is also reviewing the rates of the existing benefits being provided to qualified government employees to assess if these may need adjustment in the future, according to the agency.
It is also preparing executive issuance on the proposed grant of gratuity pay to job order and contract of service (COS) workers which will be endorsed to the Office of the President for consideration.
In August, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno stated that the government may consider another round of annual salary increases for government workers starting in 2024 as the scope of the SSL is only until 2023.
Part of the GCG study on compensation structure, Diokno said, would also assess the sustainability of another salary hikes amid the limited fiscal space of the government.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ordered regional wage boards earlier this month to assess the current minimum wage situation of private sector workers amid increasing prices of basic goods and services.
Various legislators have encouraged Malacañang to collaborate with Congress in developing laws and policies toward increasing the salaries of workers and accelerating job creation.
