Teachers dismayed by Duterte's pay hike promise

MANILA, Philippines — Not everyone is happy with President Duterte’s promise of “a little bit bigger” salary increase for public school teachers and other government employees.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said it found no comfort in the President’s statement during his fourth State of the Nation Address on Monday.

“We are dismayed with the statements of President Duterte on another promise of an increase in salaries for teachers and all other government employees,” Rep. France Castro of ACT Teachers party-list group said yesterday. 

In his SONA, Duterte called for the passage of a “new version of the Salary Standardization Law,” which is meant to give government employees, including teachers, better pay.

“To the teachers who toil and work tirelessly to educate our young, this will include what you have been asking for… it’s not that big but it will tide you over,” Duterte said, referring to calls made by teachers to raise their pay after the salaries for police and military personnel were increased.

The group noted that “a little bit bigger” appears to be exemplified by the proposed bill of Sen. Bong Go that would provide Salary Grade 1 employees with a meager P588 per month increase.

“This is very far from the doubled salaries he gave to uniformed personnel. ‘A little bit bigger’ will not be enough for a decent living wage for teachers that shoulder the shortages in school facilities and materials,” Castro said.

She said the last increase in basic pay teachers received was only about P500. The current entry pay in the public school system is P21,000.

Castro and other lawmakers are proposing a hiring pay for teachers and nurses of about P30,000 a month, the same pay level soldiers and policemen are now enjoying.

The ACT said “a little bit bigger” was not Duterte’s promise to teachers, in an apparent reference to the Chief Executive’s earlier pronouncements that he will double the salary of those teaching in public schools.

Duterte, on multiple occasions in the past three years, assured teachers they will be the next to receive salary increase after he doubled the salaries of the police and military.

“‘A little bit bigger’ will not raise the standards of living of more than a million civilian employees. ‘A little bit bigger’ will not afford us decent lives and will not bring dignity to our profession,” the group added.

The ACT called for a meaningful salary increase in the base pay of rank-and-file government employees, including from about P11,000 to P16,000 for those in Salary Grade 1 and from around P20,000 to P30,000 for entry-level teachers.   

In a statement, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) welcomed Duterte’s promise to raise the salaries of teachers but noted that anchoring it on the salary standardization law would fasten teachers’ salaries to be one of the lowest among professionals.

Meanwhile, the country’s largest labor group yesterday decried President Duterte’s failure to push for pro-worker legislation during his annual address.

TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said the President did not issue any order to address the concerns of lowly paid workers nationwide.

“We are waiting for him to issue policy guidance on (how) the administration will fight growing poverty confronting workers and their families caused by massive practice of contractualization and low wages,” Tanjusay noted.

Tanjusay said the President cannot just turn his back on the promises he made to the workers during the presidential campaign just because his popularity rating is very high.

“We hope the President has not turned his back on the workers who are carrying the burden of TRAIN taxes and who are bearing the brunt of his centerpiece ‘Build Build Build’ program,” Tanjusay said.  –  With Mayen Jaymalin