Gov’t workers to get 15% pay hike over 3 years in SSL 5

Albay Representative Joey Salceda, who heads the House ways and means committee, said based on the study commissioned by the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations and the Department of Budget and Management (GCG-DBM), the proposed SSL 5 is expected to raise the salaries of government workers by 15 percent over a three-year span. (File photo: Joey Sarte Salceda/Facebook)

MANILA — A lawmaker at the House of Representatives on Monday said the Duterte administration is set to spend PHP110 billion for the next three years for civilian government employees, including nurses and teachers, under the proposed Salary Standardization Law (SSL) 5.

Albay Representative Joey Salceda, who heads the House ways and means committee, said based on the study commissioned by the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations and the Department of Budget and Management (GCG-DBM), the proposed SSL 5 is expected to raise the salaries of government workers by 15 percent over a three-year span.

Salceda said the proposed 2020 national budget already provides for PHP32 billion in wage increase and PHP4 billion for miscellaneous benefits.

“These has been programmed within the organic capacity of the government and need no new taxes to underwrite it,” he said.

The lawmaker noted that the pay hike proposal would favor government employees belonging to lower salary grades (SG 1-17) with higher increases, while those in SG 18-33, including the President and Congressmen, will receive lower increases.

“The adjustments will preserve and somewhat improve the purchasing power of civil servants,” Salceda said, taking into account the consumer price inflation of 3.4 percent over the past three years and forward estimates on the 3-year inflation of 2-4 percent per year.

President Rodrigo Duterte gave the green light for the next round of salary increases for government employees during his fourth State of the Nation Address last July 22.