Commission
on Elections (COMELEC) employees in the central and field offices will be
putting up posters and streamers calling for the adjustment on their salaries
during their lunch break on Friday, September, 2011.
Under
the auspices of the COMELEC Wage Fight! Alliance, a coalition of poll workers
united in pushing for wage increase, the activity aims to “highlight the
growing clamour of COMELEC employees for a substantial increase in our
salaries.”
“Through
the participation of COMELEC rank and file employees in all corners of the
country (in the nationally coordinated streamer/poster hanging) we hope to be
able to send a strong message that our call has reached the national level,”
the group said.
Main Office
Palacio del Gobernad
According
to the COMELEC Wage Fight! The calls for tomorrow’s activity include:
EQUAL
WORK, EQUAL PAY!
ITAMA
ANG SAHOD SA COMELEC!
CORRECT
THE UNJUST WAGE DISPARITY!
3-5
SALARY GRADE INCREASE NOW!
OEO Daraga, Albay
Mac
Ramirez, convenor of the COMELEC Wage Fight Alliance, explains that there is a “glaring
disparity” in the salary schedule of COMELEC employees as compared to employees
in their government agencies.
“The
salary that we receive here in the COMELEC is not at par with those received by
workers in other government agencies corporations, financial institutions and
constitutional bodies. The disparity
ranges from three to five salary grade levels,” he said.
Legazpi City
Ramirez
cited for example that a Clerk I position in the COMELEC only has a Salary
Grade (SG) level 3, while in other government agencies the lowest SG level for
Clerks is SG7.
Election
Officers, which holds the sacred responsibility of supervising the conduct of
elections at the ground level, are likewise victimized by this glaring wage gap
according to Ramirez.
Camarines Sur
“They
only hold an SG level 12 (for small electoral municipality) and SG 21 (for
capital towns and cities); yet, considering their workload and actual responsibilities,
the position of Election Officer is equivalent to that of a Division Chief
level which has SG 24.”
POLL
WORKERS TO SENATE: “RAISE OUR APPEAL FOR WAGE INCREASE TO BRILLANTES ON CA
HEARING”
COMELEC Wage Fight Convenor Armando Mallorca, on September 8, 2011, presents to Chairman Sixto Brillantes the Alliance's position paper on the proposed salary adjustment of COMELEC personnel. Prior to this, COMELEC Wage Fight leaders (Mallorca, Mac Ramirez, Gel Gerardino) discussed our position with the Chairman. The Chairman was open to our proposal and has agreed to set a series of meetings to iron out our salary increase before 2012.
“The
imminent increases in petroleum, transportation, toll and water costs more than
justifies our appeal for a substantial increase in our salaries. We hope that the COMELEC, under the
leadership of Chairman Sixto Brillantes, would look into the deplorable plight
of the COMELEC rank and file and grant our appeal,” Ramirez said.
In support for Nanay & Tatay
Concludes
Ramirez: “As the Honourable Chairman is set to appear before the powerful
Committee on Appointments next week, we appeal to the Senators to take on the
cudgels for the COMELEC rank and file, and raise our demand for a substantial
wage increase with Chairman Brillantes as he takes the hot seat for his
confirmation hearing.”
