Zubiri: Senate to triple employees’ inflation assistance to P50k
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri announced Monday that the Senate would raise the one-time inflation assistance for its employees to P50,000 from P12,000.
Promising an almost 310% increase in employees' inflation allowance, Zubiri said in an interview with the media that the increase in benefits is meant to shield some 3,000 Senate staff from the rising cost of essential commodities due to inflation.
“So that we can help our employees in the Senate cope with the rising costs of goods, we will prioritize them... Charity begins at home, so in the Senate, we make sure all 3,000 staff have assistance,” Zubiri said in a mix of Filipino and English.
The one-time inflation assistance will be disbursed in August, according to the lawmaker.
In the same announcement made during the Senate’s flag-raising ceremony, Zubiri added that employees will also be given additional P20,000 in medical incentives in September, which will raise their medical assistance to P50,000 from P30,000.
“It’s expensive to get treatment and to have a hospital check-up nowadays, so we raised all our employees’ medical incentives and medical assistance,” Zubiri added.
“We used (the Senate’s) savings for this. When we have savings, we increase the incentives of our employees,” Zubiri said.
Zubiri added that the generous increase in benefits for employees “should be the template” in all government offices and agencies to motivate government staff in their work.
In the same interview, Zubiri also voiced support for proposals to increase the minimum wage in the private sector.
“The (current) minimum wage is not necessarily a living wage. … It’s not enough. Everybody should share, including the private sector,” Zubiri added. “Since inflation is rising, we should raise the minimum wage of Filipinos to help them.”
A resolution has been filed at the Senate to hike the minimum wage for workers to account for the rising costs of goods and services due to inflation, which soared to 8.7% in January.
Last week, labor group Partido Manggagawa called on Sen. Raffy Tulfo to not just seek a review of the country’s minimum wage policy but to also push for the passage of a law that will grant a P100 minimum wage hike for all workers amid rapid inflation.
- Latest
- Trending
