The president signed an executive order freezing pay for federal employees for 2019.
This mean employees of the federal government will not be getting raises in the new year, CNN reported.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday freezing federal workers’ pay for 2019, following through on a proposal he announced earlier in the year.
The move, which nixes a 2.1% across-the-board pay raise that was set to take effect in January, comes as hundreds of thousands of federal employees are expecting to begin the new year furloughed or working without pay because of a partial government shutdown.
Trump told lawmakers he planned to scrap the 2019 pay bump for federal workers in August, saying the federal budget couldn’t support it. In addition to the 2.1% pay increase, the executive order also cancels a yearly adjustment of paychecks based on the region of the country where workers are posted, called the “locality pay increase,” that was due to take effect in January.
The move does not affect a 2.6% pay increase for US troops next year that was passed as part of the massive defense spending bill Trump signed in August.
The Daily Mail reported that some were shocked by this move.
Even in light of the fact that President Trump said he would do this long ago.
‘This is just pouring salt into the wound,’ Tony Reardon, president of the National Treasury Employees Union – which represents about 100,000 federal workers – said in a statement.
‘It is shocking that federal employees are taking yet another financial hit. As if missed paychecks and working without pay were not enough, now they have been told that they don’t even deserve a modest pay increase.’
In addition to blocking the blanket raise, the order cancelled locality pay increases -paycheck adjustments made based on the region of the country where workers are posted.
However, the move will not affect a scheduled 2.6 percent pay raise for American troops that was passed as part of the massive defense spending bill Trump signed this fall.
Lawmakers could step in and include the scheduled raise in the 2019 spending bill, which is currently stalled over Trump’s $5billion border wall demand.
Many others were angry.
Today, the President poured salt on the wounds of federal employees by instituting a pay freeze for 2019 in the middle of the Trump Shutdown. Congress must reopen the federal government, make federal employees whole, and restore the dignity of federal service.
— Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) December 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/PrincessRose721/status/1079053899045179392
https://twitter.com/b_schreib/status/1079062885043785728
Hey Federal workers who voted for @realDonaldTrump, how do you like your boy now? The time has come to pay down the deficit, and he’s got you in his crosshairs. Surprise!
You’re welcome. https://t.co/ed6bcW8n7r
— Bruce Lindner (@LukaBrazzi) December 29, 2018
If you wanted to hurt the US government how would you do it? Start by closing the government, laying off workers, making others work but not paying them, and then freeze their wages so they can't get ahead. While giving huge tax cuts to rich people.
https://t.co/R1utIaWQDN— John Oberlin (@OMGno2trump) December 29, 2018
