Labor groups seek pay hike of P100 per day
‘HIGHLIGHT THE PLIGHT OF WORKERS’ An effigy is being prepared for a protest rally to mark Bonifacio Day, which labor groups are expected to join. —GRIG MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines In time for the commemoration of Bonifacio Day on Nov. 30, labor groups have joined forces to press their demand for another round of wage increases amid rising food and energy prices.
Several workers’ organizations were planning to gather first at Plaza Miranda and then at Liwasang Bonifacio, both in Manila, with the statue of national hero Andres Bonifacio in the backdrop.
“As the nation celebrates the 159th birthday of Gat Andres Bonifacio, it is important that we highlight the plight of workers today, as our working class hero did for the workers during his time,” read a statement from the groups that called themselves United Labor.
“At the minimum, workers should recover the value of their wages by getting an immediate increase of P100 a day, with the view of earning living wages at the rate of P1,100 a day,” they said.
The groups consisted of the Nagkaisa coalition, Kilusang Mayo Uno, All Workers’ Unity, Public Services International, and UNI-Philippine Liaison Council.
Aside from a wage hike, they also called for an end to job contractualization and trade union repression and demanded decent employment.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), meanwhile, asked Malacañang to upgrade the entry-level pay of public school teachers from Salary Grade (SG) 11, currently at P25,439, to Salary Grade 15, or around P35,000.
Salary increase
In a letter signed by 60,038 public school teachers and education personnel, ACT also pushed for an increase in the entry-level salary of instructors in local and state universities and colleges, from SG 12 to SG 16, and for the monthly minimum wage of government employees to be set at P33,000.
“The overworked, underpaid, and undersupported state of our teachers and education workers sits at the core of the learning crisis and serves as a major roadblock to education recovery,” the group said in the letter addressed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr..
In a statement earlier this month, Vladimer Quetua, ACT chair, said that based on the group’s computation, teachers were losing P3,862 of their monthly salary to inflation, which hit a 14-year high of 7.7 percent in October.
Those in the Teacher I position — currently entitled to a P25,439 nominal salary — received a total increase of P5,292 in their “real” monthly salaries for the past four years or only P25 daily, the group said.
