No wage increase for gov’t workers in proposed national budget in 2014—Abad

MANILA, Philippines—There was no wage increase for government workers included in the P2.268-trillion proposed national budget for next year, Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad said.

He told the House committee on appropriations that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) still had to study if it is time to increase government workers’ salaries again.

“We had just finished SSL3 so it was not provided in 2014. We need to study whether in fact it is already the appropriate time to once again effect another round of salary increases,” said the DBM official.

The proposed national budget for 2014 was 13.1-percent higher than this year’s P2.006 trillion budget but Abad said they had to assess the effect of the recent salary increase they implemented to determine whether another wage hike was necessary.

Amid the passage of the SSL 3, groups such as the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE) have been asking for a substantial wage increase to keep up with the rising cost of living in the country.

This week, Vice President Jejomar Binay called for the review and amendment of the Salary Standardization Law to address the flight of highly-skilled government workers abroad. With a report from Kristine Angeli Sabillo