A national minimum wage of P33,000 for government employees has been proposed
P33K NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE FOR GOV’T WORKERS – A group of government workers called on the government on Thursday, November 24, to raise the national minimum wage to P33,000.
In an interview, Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage) National President Santiago Dasmarinas Jr. said that it is difficult for them to budget their salary because of the high price of goods, fares, and bills today.
According to the study conducted by IBON Foundation, a non-governmental organization, the family living wage for a family of 5 members should reach P1,119 per day.
Santiago said the aforementioned calculation was in September when inflation was slower or the increase in the price of goods and services. He said: “Noong nakaraang buwan, umabot na ng 7.7 [percent] ang inflation rate samantalang ‘yong sweldo ng mga kawani ng gobyerno, lalong-lalo ng nasa mababang posisyon, ay mababa pa rin.” He added: “Kaya po ang aming panawagan: across the bureaucracy, dapat pantay-pantay lahat,” he added.
The salary for the lowest position in the government is currently P12,517, and he claims it is even lower for those in the local government. Courage also called for the regularization of contractual workers.
According to the Civil Service Commission‘s inventory of Government Human Resources, there were more than 600,000 job order and contract service employees working for the government as of June 2022.
Meanwhile, in the midst of unstable oil prices, other labor unions outside of the civil service have also called for pay increases. Kilusang Mayo Uno wanted to raise the minimum wage by 750 pesos, while Partido Manggagawa urged Congress to raise it by 100 pesos. The National Capital Region-Regional Wages and Productivity Board received a petition for a P470 raise from the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines.
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