(a) It is the policy of the United States Virgin Islands Government to provide equal pay for equal work and to pay its employees at rates comparable to that paid for similar work by other organizations in the Virgin Islands.
(b) In compliance with the principle of equal pay for substantially equal work the Governor by Executive Order shall provide equal pay increases and benefits to all members of any class or class of positions whose members are not members of an appropriate bargaining unit exclusively represented by a labor organization pursuant to chapter 14 of Title 24 of this Code. The principle of equal pay for substantially equal work shall not obligate the Governor to adjust salaries, compensation, or benefits for public employees not represented by labor organizations in the same manner as those public employees which are represented by labor organizations; nor shall the Governor be obligated to equalize salaries, compensation, or benefits between public employees doing substantially equal work represented by different labor organizations.
(c) Unless specifically provided to the contrary, whenever an across-the-board increase is enacted for government employees and an employee does not receive such increase solely because that employee has reached the pay ceiling within his grade, then such employee is hereby granted an increase in an amount equal to the difference between the highest step within his grade and the next highest step within his grade; Provided, however, That no employee who has, for any reason including contractual agreements, received a permanent increase in salary, wages, or other form of monetary compensation paid by the Government of the United States Virgin Islands, which increase shall have been received within the twelve months immediately preceding the enactment of the across-the-board pay increase, shall be entitled to the pay increase provided by this subsection.