To press the government to grant their demands, teachers in Manila held a Christmas-themed protest at Mendiola on Friday, Dec. 17.
Members of the Manila Public School Teachers' Association (MPSTA), an affiliate of the Alliance of Concerned (ACT) National Capital Region (NCR) Union, held the protest to mark day two of the “9 Days of Christmas” campaign.
“We're inching closer to Christmas, but we're nowhere near having our fair and long fought for demands fulfilled; hence, this protest action and many others we have led and will hold in the future for the advancement of teachers' welfare,” said ACT NCR Union Vice President and MPSTA President Louie Zabala.
The group hung ornaments of their 5 urgent demands on a Christmas tree and also brought lanterns bearing the same.
Zabala said that Mendiola has “always been our stage where we can air out our grievances and calls, and we wish that all who seek to be seated in that office will prove their intention and capacity to serve the nation by addressing the urgent needs of teachers and the entire education sector.”
ACT is demanding for salary upgrading; overtime compensation; laptop and P1,500 monthly internet allowance; P3,000 inflation adjustment allowance; and P10,000 tax-free poll work pay.
Zabala alleged that their calls for pay hike and better benefits were “toyed with by the Duterte admin” during his campaign for Presidency since he “never came through with his promises.”
“It's clearer than ever for us now: any public servant, or vying to be, who has no concrete plan to address the issues of education frontliners and the entire sector has no real heart for its citizens and for the country,” Zabala said.
“Education, after all, is vital to national development,” he added.
ACT said that teachers nationwide have long been calling for a substantial pay hike. The group is pushing for pay hike from Salary Grade (SG) 11 to SG 15 for teacher 1, from SG 14 to SG 16 for Instructor 1, and for an entry-level pay of P16,000 for SG 1 government employees.
ACT argues that salary upgrading should be an “immediate” measure passed by the government to alleviate the present conditions of state teachers and education support personnel and give them due recognition for their service to the nation, especially at the height of the health and socio-economic crises.