Calling it an added burden, a group of private school teachers strongly condemned the planned Social Security System (SSS) contribution hike set to take effect in 2025.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Private Schools, in a statement issued on Jan. 5, called the hike an “unconscionable attack” on teachers and workers who are “already burdened by soaring prices and meager wages.”

“This proposed SSS contribution increase is the height of government insensitivity,” ACT Private Schools Secretary-General Jonathan Geronimo said, noting that the current administration “appears more interested in padding its confidential funds than ensuring social services and the welfare of the people.”

The group pointed out that private school teachers, along with other private sector employees, are “already suffering” from inflation, high utility costs, and increased PhilHealth premiums.

The additional SSS deduction from their salaries, the group lamented, will further “erode their already insufficient” take-home pay.

2025 national budget

Meanwhile, Geronimo noted that the 2025 national budget is the “most anti-people budget we've seen, with massive funds going to agencies notorious for corruption, while social services remain severely underfunded.”

The teachers' group also criticized the SSS’s “failure to fully implement” the 2016 pension hike that promised an additional P1,000 for pensioners.

“The SSS seems more concerned about extending its fund life through increased collections rather than genuinely serving its members and pensioners,” Geronimo said.

Suspend hike

Given this, the group demanded the immediate suspension of the planned SSS contribution hike, the defunding of confidential funds, and the reallocation of the 2025 budget to prioritize education, health, and other essential social services.

The group also called for the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC, whose “funds could be better used for the welfare of the people.”