Another round of Christmas bonus awaits government employees as 1,207 government workers’ unions are qualified to negotiate and receive up to a P25,000 cash incentive for each member through the Collective Negotiation Agreement, the Department of Budget and Management said Tuesday.
The DBM clarified that unions from national government agencies, local government units, state universities, and colleges, and government-owned and -controlled companies and corporations, were qualified to the CNA.
According to the DBM, both managerial and rank-and-file employees of agencies with approved and successfully implemented CNAs might receive the said incentive, adding that agencies, LGUs, SUCs, and GOCCs had until Jan. 31, 2019, to submit their report to the DBM.
The department, however, clarified that it had yet to estimate the complete quantity of government agencies and employees that applied for the said CNA incentive.
Last month, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the incentive would be available to both management and rank-and-file employees provided that the agency met the qualifications under the DBM’s circular.
“A CNA incentive may be granted to both management and rank-and-file employees with approved and successfully implemented CNAs,” he said.
“The CNA is a recognition of the worker’s efforts in accomplishing performance targets at a lesser cost, and in attaining more efficient and viable operations through cost-cutting measures and systems improvements,” he added.
He stressed that the incentive amount government employees would get was not fixed, considering that the funds would depend on the amount of money saved from cost-cutting measures of the agency.
Budget Circular No. 2018-5 states that employees are entitled to the benefit from the CNA initiative as civilian personnel”•regular, contractual, or casual”•rendering services full-time or part-time in state universities and colleges, government-owned and controlled corporations, local water districts, and local government units, whether covered by the Republic Act No. 6758 or the Salary Standardization Law or not.
Under the law, government employees working for agencies that were able to generate savings for the year were qualified to receive the cash bonus this December.
“There is no minimum amount to be received for the CNA incentive. If no savings are available, it is possible that no incentive will be released,” the DBM elaborated on GMA News Online.
According to the DBM, the incentive recognizes efforts of government offices in accomplishing performance targets at a lesser cost and in attaining more efficient and viable operations through cost-cutting measures and systems improvement.
The CNA incentive, however, should not exceed to P25,000 per employee.
The annual CNA incentive is a one-time benefit to be given not earlier than Dec. 15. This is also on top of the 14th-month pay and cash bonuses government employees will get.
The said CNA incentive is the equivalent of the collective bargaining agreement in private firms.
