Teachers ask for wage hike amid TRAIN law

Days before Labor Day, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines has asked Malacañang for an increase in teachers’ salaries, saying they are reeling from the effects of inflation after the recent Tax Reform law was implemented.

“The urgency for salary increase has doubled since the implementation of the TRAIN Law in January 2018.  Inflation has only gobbled up whatever meager increase the teachers got from income tax exemption and Executive Order (EO) 201 of then President Aquino,” ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio said on Friday.

Teachers under the Teacher I portfolio got P467.44 from EO 201 and P960.12 from income tax exceptions because of the TRAIN Law.  However, ACT claims that an additional P1,510 is needed to cover monthly expenses after the same tax policy created a spike in the prices of basic commodities.

Basilio also called on President Rodrigo Duterte, who has yet to fulfill his campaign promise of a pay hike for teachers, even as a recent survey shows that Filipinos yearn for higher take-home pays.

READ: Filipinos want wage hike

“Salary increase is a highly sensitive issue for teachers and it is abominable how the Duterte [administration] has first played around with, then turned a deaf ear to our urgent call for economic relief,” Basilio said.

ACT is pushing for a P30,000 salary for the Teacher I position, P31,000 for Instructor I and P16,000 for Salary Grade I.  The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has previously said that teachers might have to wait until 2020 for pay increases.

READ: DBM open to raising teachers’ pay