THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers hailed the Senate leadership’s move to increase the inflation allowance of the chamber’s employees to help them deal with soaring daily expenses.

The group also urged the government to urgently take steps to bring economic relief to public and private sector workers amid the rise in prices of basic goods and services.

“The Senate and the Lower House of Congress should immediately act on and pass the numerous bills that seek to increase the wages and improve the benefits of all workers. We demand for a minimum pay equivalent to the living wage. With the conclusion of the Salary Standardization Law V this year, a new round of salary increases, starting with the setting of the minimum salary in government at P33,000 monthly and upgrading of teachers’ salaries to salary grade 15, should be legislated immediately,” Vladimer Quetua, the group’s chairperson, said.

Quetua also said that it is time to increase the monthly Personnel Economic Relief Assistance to P2,000.

“The ACT Teachers Partylist has filed House Bill 553 that seeks to increase the PERA to P5,000, while four more bills that aims for the same await Congress action,” Quetua added.

The group urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to immediately sign an executive order granting higher pay and benefits to workers.

“Seryoso ang nararanasang kagipitan ng lahat ng manggagawa at empleyado dahil sa kapos na sahod at nagtataasang presyo. If this is not addressed accordingly and immediately, not only will it affect the productivity of our workforce but it will prod them to do the same as the millions of workers around the world who stage strikes and gigantic protests in the face of the worsening global economic recession,” Quetua said.