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Saturday, December 03, 2005
State workers may stage mass leave over unpaid living allowance
By Lory Ann B. Bilbao
ILOILO CITY -- Some government employees are threatening to go on mass leave if the Department of Budget Management (DBM) ignores their plea for a payback of their cost of living allowance (Cola).
The said group is comprised of the Department of Labor and Employment Region Six (Dolers) Employment Union (EU) and Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage).
Its president, William Dungog, revealed that from 1989 to 1999, the Cola was deprived from them. Then, on September this year, the Supreme Court (SC) decided that the National Government finally give it to them.
"A total of P41 billion was not given to the National Government employees for ten long years," Dungog said.
"The appeal from the Western Visayas Government Employees is for the government to pay up the Cola they withheld from 1989 to 1999."
Dungog showed the decision of the Supreme Court dated September 6 this year on the case of Philippine Ports Authority Employees Union (Ppaeu) and the Commission on Audit (COA), it decided that all those deprived withheld Cola since 1989 to 1999 share be given back to them and all government employees similarly situated.
In a memorandum made by the Cabinet during its eighth meeting held last September 9 in Malacañang, addressed to the secretary of budget and management and the secretary of labor and employment, it stated that these people was instructed by the President to facilitate the release this September of P1 billion to start the staggered payment of Cola due the government employees during the period of 1989 and 1999.
"DBM shall appraise the President on the action taken on the matter and the appropriate time to make the formal announcement," Dungog said.
This was part of the discussion of the Cabinet and the President on strategic measures to protect vulnerable sectors from the rising prices. Also stated in the memo that one of the concerns raised was the need to alleviate the plight of the fixed wage earners, including those in the government.
The same memo was cleared by the same body through another memo September 22 that the former was a directive of the Cabinet "to study the implications of paying Cola" to national government employees for the period of 1989 to 1999.
"They (DBM) believed that they were not obliged to pay the Cola. It was not even stated in the SC's decision that the Cola be paid in staggered basis," Dungog said.
Dungog added they will hold a rally wearing black in front of the DBM office here on December 7 for a call of payback of their withheld Cola.
"If they still refuse to acknowledge what we fought for, we will start implementing a mass leave," he said.
Courage is a group of government employees including the Local Government Units employees in Western Visayas with 17 government agencies such as the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), National Food Authority (NFA), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Marina, among others.
He added that government employees of the municipalities of Leganes and Pavia will join them during their rally Wednesday.
Some P1 billion as staggered payment according to Dungog entitles every government employee P1,500. There were a total of 1.54 million of government employees nationally, revealed Dungog.
The Iloilo Provincial Government here has allotted money for the Cola of the government employees here in accordance with the said first memo for a staggered payment sometime after it was issued. But the same was stopped by the DBM through the issuance of its Budget Circular on October 26, this year told Dungog.
(December 3, 2005 issue)
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