Congress urged to convert workers’ bonus to pay hike

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate and the House of Representatives are being urged to convert the planned two months year-end bonus for the 1.5 million government personnel into an increase in their basic pay.

This would effectively double the proposed pay hike for state workers under the draft Salary Standardization Law (SSL) 2015, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez said.

“I appeal to my colleagues to examine the measure by pushing for a higher basic increase than the draft law offers for low- and middle-level employees like teachers and nurses because they need better pay the most,” he said. 

“I suggest to reduce the performance-based bonus so that we can generate funds to support a higher basic salary instead to extend more compassion to our ordinary workers,” he said.

He pointed out that the draft SSL 2015 offers a small salary increase for low- and middle-level state workers and a substantial adjustment for bureaucrats who are already receiving fat compensation and allowances.

Romualdez noted that one group of public school teachers, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), has made a similar suggestion.

ACT has said it would prefer adding the year-end performance bonus of two months to the proposed salary increase even if it would be taxed, since this would translate into higher basic pay and retirement benefits.

The group conceded that if it would remain as a year-end bonus, it would be tax-free. Under a recently enacted law, bonuses of up to P82,000 are exempt from income tax.

Aside from the year-end incentive, state workers would get a mid-year bonus equivalent to one-month salary.

Low-ranking personnel are not happy with what they described as the “measly” adjustment they would receive.

 Teachers, who hold Salary Grade 11, have said they would get an increase of only P2,200 over four years.

Research group IBON Foundation has studied the pay hike plan and found the salary increase to range from 12-23 percent for low-paid employees and 76-223 percent for government officials holding Salary Grace 24 and higher.

It said the salary hike for officials “is excessive and undemocratic.”

“The three highest salary grades covering the president, vice president, cabinet secretaries, senators, congressmen, and justices will see increases of 186-223 percent, or by P167,809 (for Salary Grade 31) to P268,096 (for Salary Grade 33). This is a tripling or more of their current basic salary to P3.4 million-P5.1 million annually,” it said.

“In contrast, the basic pay of the lowest 13 salary grades only increases by 12-23 percent, or just P2,068 (Salary Grade 1) to P3,796 (Salary Grade 13),” it said.

To lessen the cost on taxpayers, Sen. Ralph Recto has proposed that the pay increase be confined to low-paid personnel with Salary Grades 11 to 13.

These include teachers, soldiers, policemen, firemen, and other uniformed personnel, and they comprise the bulk of the bureaucracy, Recto said. 

The draft SSL 2015 is still pending in Congress, which will tackle it again when it reconvenes on Jan. 19.