ACT: Government not a business

Do not put the interests of business groups over that of public school teachers, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) asked the government on Thursday after six major professional associations cautioned against granting teachers an immediate P10,000 monthly raise.

“The state is not a business and should not be run like one,” said ACT national chair Joselyn Martinez, who added that big business was quick to mobilize when rank-and-file workers asked for better conditions.

“What else can we expect from big businessmen whose wealth rests upon the exploitation of cheap labor?” Martinez asked.

Such “inequitable and unjust” salary schemes have left teachers and low-ranking government personnel “incapable of coping with the rising cost of living,” she added.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, several business associations said the P10,000 a month pay hike for teachers should be given in phases over a period of time, as an immediate raise could result in “a disparity in pay” between teachers from the public and private sectors and result in the migration of private school teachers to public schools.

The government should also consider “fiscal affordability and sustainability,” said the statement signed by Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, Action for Economic Reforms, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Foundation for Economic Freedom and Philippine Business for Education.

Benjo Basas, chair of Teachers’ Dignity Coalition, said the coordinated effort by private groups to counter the call of government employees for a salary hike was “unprecedented.” He also noted the business groups’ silence when Mr. Duterte doubled the pay of uniformed personnel.

“Both teachers and uniformed personnel were pledged a pay hike by the President,” Basas said in an interview. “That’s the moral basis of our call. It’s a presidential promise.”