Roxas files bill to raise gov’t salaries

Sen. Manuel Roxas II has filed a bill that, once passed into law, will effectively increase salaries in government to make them competitive with the private sector.

Roxas said his bill proposes to update the standards used by the government to evaluate compensation and position levels of public employees by allowing periodic salary adjustments based on the cost of living.

The bill seeks to amend Republic Act 6758, an Act Prescribing a Revised Compensation and Position Classification System in Government, which was passed in 1989 to establish a unified wage and qualification system in the government.

The original law mandated initial grade salaries ranging from P2,000 to P25,000. In 1993, Congress passed a joint resolution increasing initial grade salaries by 50 percent, or from P4,000 to P50,000.

The next and last adjustment was in 2001, which increased initial grade salaries by 17 percent or from P5,082 to P57,750.

Roxas noted that the difference between salary grade steps is only P300, making it meaningless in terms of one-step promotions and useless as an incentive for promotion.

He said that it has been four years since the last adjustment was made and that inflation has grown at an average of six percent over the last 10 years.

"Needless to say, compensation levels of government employees fall behind industry standards," Roxas said, citing data from the World Bank that showed senior civil servants receive only 20 percent of what their counterparts in the private sector are getting.

He said that the government should give salaries comparable to the private sector in order to attract and keep good people, which could be "a way to promote good governance in the public sector."

"Good governance requires a high level of effectiveness, accountability and transparency, which can only be achieved if government will be able to attract and retain highly skilled and competent personnel," Roxas said.

He said the success of the government’s compensation and position classification system should be measured according to its effectiveness ensuring the equal treatment of employees and that workers receive salaries that correspond to the current cost of living.

Roxas’ bill also seeks to amend RA 6758 to include a provision for early retirement and voluntary separation benefits for government personnel.

The Department of Budget and Management will conduct a review for this purpose and recommend a package for qualified employees.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan has filled a bill seeking to increase the minimum wage for public school teachers.

Under Senate Bill 2055, the minimum salary grade level for elementary and secondary public school teachers will be upgraded from Grade 10 to Grade 20.

This upgrade shall be based on a teacher’s qualification and length of service, and will not be an across-the-board increase.

Pangilinan’s bill calls on the national government to prioritize allocating funds for this purpose over non-educational and non-agricultural items on the budget.