Drilon files SSL 2016 to raise state workers pay

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon filed a bill that introduces a 27 percent average increase in the salary of about 1.53 million state workers over a period of three years.

Senate Bill No. 13 or the Salary Standardization Law IV, which Drilon filed recently, seeks to introduce reforms in the government's compensation system to make it competetive with the private sector, and to boost the employees' morale and productivity.

"The compensation for all civilian government personnel shall be competitive with those in the private sector doing comparable work in order to attract, retain and motivate a corps of effective, efficient, professional, committed and competent civil servants," Drilon said.

Drilon's bill mandates a three-year compensation increase for the national government's 1.53 million civilian and military and uniformed personnel.

The bill aslo provides for a mid-year month pay bonus equivalent to a one month's basic salary and an enhanced performance-based bonus equivalent to 1 to 2 months' basic salary.

"This piece of legislation seeks to increase the base pay of covered employees on the average by 27%, while the 14th month pay will further raise basic pay by 8%," Drilon said.

If passed into law, the first tranche of the adjustment under the SSL 2016 will take effect on January 1, 2017, with the subsequent tranche to begin in January 1, 2018, and the final tranche slated for January 1, 2019.

Drilon said that the new compensation level for all salary grades will be required to be at least 70% of the market in order to attract and retain competent and committed personnel

This means that under the bill, a public nurse with the rank of Nurse II or salary grade 15 with a monthly salary of P27,565 will receive P33, 279 per month after the last tranche of the bill is implemented by 2019.

Similarly, employees receiving the smallest minimum basic salary--Salary Grade 1--will see their monthly wages rise from P9,000 to P11,068 a month.

They, along with other government workers, will be entitled to a mid-year bonus, which will be given not earlier than May of each year, and a performance-based bonus.

The bill will also ensure that there will be no more "salary overlaps" to recognize differences in duties and responsibilities. It will also strengthen the link between pay and performance especially for those in the higher salary grades, Drilon underscored.

"The structure of the adjustment should temper the cost of benefits (i.e. GSIS premiums and PhilHealth contributions) and allow for higher take home pay, especially for those in the lower salary grades," he concluded.