Job order (JO) or contractual employees of the provincial government of South Cotabato are set to receive a 10 percent increase in their salaries.
Alex Basco, chief of the Provincial Human Resources Management Office (PHRMO), said Wednesday they are currently finalizing the salary adjustment, which was earlier endorsed by South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes.
He said they proposed for the move to complement with the increases received by regular employees in line with Local Budget Circular No. 113 issued on Jan. 5 and the previous administration’s Executive Order No. 201 dated Feb. 19, 2016.
“JOs assist and provide support to our regular employees. Their salaries must be commensurate with the services they render,” Basco said.
The official said the local government needs an additional budget of around P15 million to provide for the salary adjustment.
He said Gov. Fuentes has committed to include such allocation in the second supplemental budget for this year.
The final appropriation is subject to deliberation and approval of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan or provincial board’s finance committee.
The salaries of the provincial government’s 1,135 JO rank and file employees was last adjusted in January 2015 based on the revised rates approved by the provincial board.
It specifically increased the minimum daily wage rate of JO workers to P290. The adjustment applied to workers until Salary Grade 16, which gets a daily pay of P745.
Meantime, the PHRMO will open next month a search for the most outstanding employees of the provincial government.
The search will comprise six categories: most outstanding executive, most outstanding supervisor, most outstanding office-based employee, most outstanding field worker, most outstanding general services employee, and most outstanding “Bayanihan” worker.
The “Bayanihan” team is composed of employees from different sections and divisions or office of the local government.
The winners, who will receive cash awards, will be announced in September during the provincial government’s celebration of the Civil Service Month. (PNA)
