DUTERTE CERTIFIES AS URGENT PAY HIKE FOR TEACHERS, OTHER GOV'T WORKERS

President Rodrigo Duterte asks Congress to fast-track a measure that would raise the salary of public school teachers by 20% to 30%

TEACHERS' WISH. Will public school teachers get a pay hike in 2020?

President Rodrigo Duterte certified as urgent a bill that would raise the take-home pay of government workers, including public school teachers.



In a letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto III dated December 13, Duterte called for the immediate enactment of Senate Bill No. 1219 or what would be the Salary Standardization Law of 2019.

This means Duterte is certifying the measure as urgent, allowing the Senate to pass the bill on 2nd reading as well as 3rd and final reading on the same day. Government employees with Salary Grades 10 to 15, which include many public school teachers, would benefit the most with the highest raise ranging from 20% to 30%.



The proposed bill provides a premium for government workers with Salary Grades 11 to 19, which cover public school teachers and nurses of public hospitals.

Government personnel with Salary Grades 23 to 33, meanwhile, would get an 8% increase.

This arrangement, said Senator Bong Revilla, would address the "inequality" in the salary payment scheme in which employees with lower salary grades made do with only slight pay hikes compared to those earning much higher.



The pay hikes, if approved, would be implemented starting January 2020, but spread out over 4 tranches until 2023. The increases would cost the government P33 billion in 2020.



Duterte had called for the salary adjustment in his 4th State of the Nation Address. He previously promised higher pay for public school teachers and nurses.

SOURCE: www.rappler.com

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