Philippine gaming regulator PAGCOR said Tuesday it has asked the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) for approval of salary step increments based on employees’ length of service to correct distortions caused by its new Compensation and Position Classification System (CPCS).
The regulator revealed that its Board of Directors has already approved the implementation of step increments but that it needs GCG approval to be able to put them into practice.
This comes after PAGCOR said recently it would file a motion for reconsideration with the GCG for the retention of employee benefits that were discontinued under the agency’s new salary scheme.
“Parallel to the thrust of the PAGCOR Board of Directors to prioritize the welfare of the employees, the PAGCOR Board approved the Implementation of Step Increment based on Length of Service, subject to GCG’s review and approval,” PAGCOR Chairman and CEO wrote in a letter to GCG Chairperson Atty. Marius Corpus.
PAGCOR also revealed in Tuesday’s statement that the step increment is just the first of many appeals it plans to lodge with the GCG so that PAGCOR employees “may enjoy competitive salaries and benefits comparable to other revenue-generating GOCCs.”
According to PAGCOR, a number of employees discovered this month that their take-home pay had decreased after the regulator received its Authority to Implement the CPCS on 31 January.
It also claims the CPCS caused distortions in pay scale because all employees were reverted to Pay Step 1 regardless of their years of service.
“We hope that the GCG will positively respond to our appeal so that all tenured PAGCOR employees will not feel shortchanged, and instead receive the compensation that they deserve under the bounds of the law,” Tengco said.
The agency stated that one of the provisions under the CPCS implementing guidelines reads “one step increment shall be granted to qualified personnel for every three years of continuous satisfactory service in the present position.”
A total of 7,057 PAGCOR personnel or 72.60% of the agency’s workforce have been in service for more than three years in their respective positions, it said.
