Party-list group wants salary upgrade for teachers

MANILA, Philippines - A militant party-list group is pushing for the upgrade of the salaries of some 500,000 public and 200,000 private school teachers nationwide to Salary Grade 15 or P24,887 in accordance with the guidelines set by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“Given the teachers’ current salary scale at Grade 11 (P15,649), this certainly remains below government-declared decent living standards,” ACT Teachers’ party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said.

“Teachers’ entry level wages become even lower after deductions and high interest rates from loan sharks, who take advantage of them,” he said.

School teachers’ net pay usually end up between P5,000 to P6,000 a month, according to cursory surveys.

“The lowest-paid professionals in the country, teachers are exploited, work long hours, handle oversized classes and are often deprived of benefits – even those mandated by law,” he said.

“Thus, many choose to leave their profession to work overseas as nannies, caregivers and domestic helpers to earn a better living,” he added.

Almost 80 percent of the teachers teach in elementary and secondary public schools, as well as in state universities and colleges. The rest are employed in private schools. As a whole, almost 80 percent of teachers are female.

The ACT Teachers is also pushing for other issues, such as the removal of the GSIS’ “unjust” and “predatory” Claims and Loan Interdependency Program (CLIP) and transparency in the governance of fund agencies such as the GSIS, SSS, PhilHealth, Housing, and other agencies.

He also called for the enforcement of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, in effect since 1966, but which provisions are either violated or not enforced, requiring the need to strictly monitor its implementation, as well as the enactment of a Magna Carta for Private School Teachers.