Monday, September 10, 2007 Mandaue CH employees get 10% salary hike
THE Mandaue City Council passed a resolution asking for a 10-percent increase in the salaries of all casual employees.
But Mayor Jonas Cortes will have to ask City Budget officials to study the resolution and see if it is allowed under the law.
The council also pass-ed an ordinance creating 67 new permanent posts in the offices of the council members.
Cortes said, though, that he might veto the measure.
“Nindot nga motabang ta sa mga (It’s good to help the) employees but we have to check if it’s allowed by the law,” the mayor, who is currently streamlining City Hall’s workforce, said.
Councilor Vic Biaño said the City may dissolve unnecessary positions to give way to newly created ones.
Section 325 of the Local Government Code (LGC) limits appropriations for personnel services of local government units for a fiscal year to not more than 45 percent of the total annual income from regular sources realized in the next preceding fiscal year.
Last Sept. 5, the council passed an ordinance creating the positions of legislative assistants for the members of the council. The mayor has yet to act on the ordinance.
Positions
It stated that seven of the new permanent positions will be assigned to the vice mayor’s office and 60 positions will be given to councilors and ex-officio members at five positions for each legislator.
The ordinance provided that it will be the vice mayor who will issue appointments of the personnel for the respective positions in accordance to Civil Service Rules and in relation to the provision of the LGC.
The ordinance will take effect upon the approval of Cortes.
The mayor said the City has already reached the 45 percent ceiling on personnel services.
But Cortes is willing to give five program employees to each legislator, instead.
Program employees are hired on a contractual basis, hold temporary positions not classified under personnel services.
Cortes said he had been a councilor for two terms before he became a mayor and he survived with two program employees who worked as his secretaries then.
Capability
He said the City cannot attract qualified personnel with the P215 daily salary of “program employees” that the mayor is offering.
But the mayor will study the City’s capability to give a 10 percent across-the-board increase to all program, clean and green and Tedman employees effective last July 1.
The resolution stated that President Arroyo last March 14 granted a 10 percent increase to all regular employees effective July 1.
Contract workers were not covered by the increase, so the council passed a resolution giving them a raise. (OCP)
