Congress OK on P15K pay hike for teachers sought

The Teachers Dignity Coalition is asking Congress to approve a P15,000 across-the-board pay increase for public school teachers and education personnel during National Teachers Month.

Coalition chairman Benjo Basas said teachers need salaries that allow them to live with dignity rather than merely survive. He pointed to rising prices, expanding responsibilities and the growing demands of the profession as reasons for the requested increase.

“

Rising prices, expanding responsibilities and the growing demands of the profession make this pay increase a long-overdue necessity. A decent salary is not a privilege or a reward for good performance, it is a basic recognition of the value of teachers’ work and their right to a dignified life.

“Rising prices, expanding responsibilities and the growing demands of the profession make this pay increase a long-overdue necessity,” Basas said. “A decent salary is not a privilege or a reward for good performance, it is a basic recognition of the value of teachers’ work and their right to a dignified life.”

Basas said National Teachers Month should go beyond speeches, ceremonies, discounts and expressions of gratitude. “It must be an opportunity to confront the long-standing neglect of teachers’ rights, economic welfare and working conditions,” he said.

“

It must be an opportunity to confront the long-standing neglect of teachers’ rights, economic welfare and working conditions.