Quezon City contractual employees to get pay hike

MANILA, Philippines — Contractual or job order employees who are receiving salaries below the minimum wage will get a salary increase next year, according to Mayor Joy Belmonte.

Belmonte this week announced that the city government would implement a reform in the local government’s salary program to ensure compliance with the minimum wage set by the Department of Labor and Employment.

“It is high time that we raise the salary of our employees who are tirelessly working for our constituents. It is their right to be entitled to what is indicated in the law,” she said.

By the second quarter of 2020, Belmonte said no contractual and job order employees in the city’s executive department will be paid below P590 per day or about P13,000 per month.

She said the decision was reached after reviewing the city hall’s roster of human resources and discovering that some employees are getting below the minimum pay despite working for 40 hours or more a week.

The city government said the salary increase will benefit 4,667 non-plantilla contractual and job order personnel from the executive branch assigned at the city hall, as well as the community health workers.

City budget officer Gigi Orayani said the city will allocate P152 million for the implementation of the salary increase.

In addition, Belmonte announced that all city hall employees will get their Christmas bonus before the end of the year.

The city council earlier approved a total of P186.8 million for year-end cash incentives equivalent to one month salary for all plantilla employees. 

Non-plantilla workers, meanwhile, will receive P3,000 additional cash incentive each.