Teachers are unhappy about the first payday of 2024 without a salary increase

A group of people who work in education are upset because the government did not increase their salaries as much as they need to live comfortably. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said that on January 15, 2024, teachers and workers did not get a pay raise. Vladimer Quetua, the leader of ACT, said that this was disappointing for them at the start of the new year. He mentioned that ACT asked for higher salaries last year.

Quetua explained that a law called the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) V, which gave small yearly salary increases, ended in December 2023. He said the government has not done enough to make sure salaries go up. ACT also said the current leaders did not keep their promise to raise teacher salaries, and the Department of Education did not respond to teachers asking for help.

ACT also mentioned that teachers have to pay more for health insurance, but their salaries are not going up. The group has been asking for a national minimum wage that is the same for everyone, but this has not been a main focus for the government. They believe this makes life harder for private workers, especially because prices are going up but their salaries are not.

ACT pointed out that low salaries make life very hard for teachers in both public and private schools because the cost of things is rising. They want the government to support teachers and workers more. Quetua said the government should quickly increase teacher salaries to a good level, suggesting P50,000 for starting teachers in any school. ACT also wants a national minimum wage of P33,000 for all workers.