Teachers take fight for salary hike to Senate

MANILA, Philippines — Following the passage of the proposed 2020 budget at the House committee on appropriations, teachers have turned to senators to air their call for a substantial salary hike for government workers.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) noted that the House has approved at the committee level the proposed P4.1-trillion budget for next year amid concerns over the “measly” P31-billion allocation for the salary increase of 1.5 million government workers.

“The House committee has just robbed us of hope like a thief in the night,” ACT chairperson Jocelyn Martinez said during a picket at the Senate on Monday.

“We were banking on the 2020 budget deliberations to give our just demand for substantial salary increase a fair chance but our legislators failed us,” she added.

The ACT, which belongs to the broader All Government Employees Unity alliance, called on senators to consider the welfare of low-salaried civil servants in its deliberations on salary increase proposals.

The alliance pushed for a substantial increase in the budget for the salary hike of civilian government workers, reiterating their call for an increase in the entry-level salary of teachers and nurses from less than P20,000 per month to at least P30,000.

During the Senate hearing on Monday, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition also expressed support for the passage of pending bills that will provide at least P10,000 per month across-the-board salary increase for public school teachers.

“We appeal to the honorable members of this chamber to consider the P10,000 across-the-board increase, which is lower than what the government granted to the uniformed personnel last year,” TDC chairperson Banjo Basas told the senators.