Media Release July 27, 2000 STATE WORKERS FLATLY REJECT
MALACAŅANG'S OFFER OF 5% INCREASE NEXT YEAR GOVERNMENT employees are appalled by Malacaņang’s announcement that they will grant each employee 5% salary increase starting January next year. Apparently, this was already contained in the 2001 proposed national budget submitted to the Philippine Congress last Monday. The 10% salary increase which President Estrada was forced to give this year in response to our protest actions in support of our demand for a PhP3,000 across the board salary increase is already unacceptable to us. Considering that the unabated oil price hikes has led to the skyrocketing increases of cost of living, the meager increase equivalent to a measly PhP440 a month or PhP20/day is not enough for us to cope with the crisis. Moreso, with the proposed 5% increase for next year which is just equivalent to an insignificant PhP200/month or PhP10 /day increase. It's like giving a lollipop to a kid that was halved! This is also detestable in the light that the PhP725 Billion 2001 national budget submitted to Congress is PhP100 B more of the PhP625 B budget for this year. Clearly, the government is allocating more funds for corruption and pork barrel. Let the government know that they cannot use and exploit the crisis in Mindanao to justify the big chunks of money they will pocket as soon as Congress approves the General Appropriations Act for 2001. Moreover, this only proves that public service is not a priority of the Estrada administration as more funds are rechanelled / slashed from education, health and other social services. We are still pushing for our earlier demand of PhP3,000 across the board salary increase for all state workers firm in our belief that said amount shall recover the lost value of our salaries. This may not be enough to afford us
a living wage but at least sufficient to temporarily tide
us over our economic predicaments. We will not hesitate
to launch more and wider protest actions with the public
school teachers and health workers. President Estrada
will have to deal with the rage of employees who are
already tired of his pretenses and abuses. Enough is
enough, enough of Erap! # |
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