By The Star Staff
Education (DEPR) Secretary Yanira Raíces Vega announced Tuesday that the agency submitted a new Classification and Remuneration Plan for school cafeteria workers to the Financial Oversight and Management Board and the Office of Management and Budget.
The agency seeks an allocation of $20.4 million to raise the salaries of 3,926 employees, days after the oversight board rejected a law raising salaries for cafeteria workers to $12 per hour.
“The new Plan seeks to make our School Cafeteria program competitive in terms of compensation. They are essential employees, not only in feeding our students but also in emergencies,” Raíces Vega said. “Furthermore, this new plan aims to attract, motivate, and retain the best resources in our dining rooms.”
School Food Authority Director Franchesca Reyes noted meanwhile that the review of pay scales was conducted with the utmost thoroughness. The firm Target Team was hired to work on the classification of DEPR teaching positions, starting with the School Cafeterias division.
“Job descriptions and all duties were reviewed and updated to ensure that each employee was correctly classified based on the duties they currently perform,” Reyes said. “Critical positions were also identified, a description of duties for the new positions created was established, and a comprehensive comparison and analysis regarding the market was carried out.”
The plan for the Dining Unit evaluates 65 classes, and salaries are allocated using a 21-scale structure.
The implementation of the Classification and Remuneration Plan will have a direct and positive impact on a total of 3,926 employees of the School Cafeteria division, effective Jan. 11 of this year.
“This represents an allocation of recurring funds amounting to $20.4 million, a significant investment in our workforce,” Reyes said.
Likewise, the School Food Authority has begun replacing the vehicle fleet in all its regions to guarantee more agility in services to school cafeterias for the start of classes in August, for which it has invested close to $5 million in federal funds.
The oversight board on July 7 declined to approve the government raising the salaries of cafeteria workers to $12 per hour because the move would go against Civil Service Reform, the board said.
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