ABOUT 200 officers of faculty clubs in Quezon City public schools joined calls for a wage hike to help teachers cope with inflation.

“The year 2023 is a decisive year for our public school teachers as now ends the salary adjustments effected by the Salary Standardization Law V. We cannot afford to have our basic pay nailed at P27,000 per month while soaring inflation has caused the spike of the living wage level to more than P33,000 monthly,” Erlinda Alfonso, president of the Quezon City Public School Teachers Association, said.

“As professionals, our teachers deserve decent salaries that can afford our families reasonable standards of living, and are comparable to the compensation given to our counterpart professionals such as nurses in public hospitals. As such, we reiterate our demand to upgrade our salary level from the current salary grade 11 to salary grade 15,” Alfonso added.

She said they support the call of government employees to hike the salary grade I pay to P33,000, and bring the entry-level pay of teachers to around P50,000 monthly.

“May 1, Labor Day, is our day, as it is for all working people across the globe. It is a special day to show our collective strength in asserting our basic labor rights to decent salaries, rightful benefits, humane working conditions and right to free association,” she said.

“We commit the solidarity and participation of Quezon City teachers in the activities and street marches for wage hike on May 1,” she added.